Cat will not stay off kitchen counter

by Amber
(Kannapolis, NC)

My cat is almost three years old and has gotten in the habit of laying on our kitchen counter. I have done all sorts of things to try to get her to stop but nothing seems to work. I am getting tired of clening up the cat fur she leaves behind so what should I do?

Answer by Kate
Hi
you will have to make it impossible for her to sit there for an extended period of time so that during this time she unlearns this behaviour and finds another favourite place to sit.

unfortunately this will mean for you that for a few weeks or so you will have to make sure that you put things on the counter all the time to obstruct her sitting there, jars, boxes etc. Also you could use a very strong lemon and water mixture around the area, this often puts cats off.

unfortunately as i say it is all about re training her to find somewhere else and to changed this learned behaviour. After all she does not understand that counters are for food preparation and we don't want a mouthful of hair with our dinner every day.

Persistence is the answer, if she gets up there, pick her up and put her on the floor, do this calmly and without a lot of noise or fuss, this will reinforce this action as a negative response. this will eventually teach her that this place gets her a negative response but when she sits somewhere else she gets tickles and praise etc.

Good luck, you can do it.

best wishes Kate

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