Ka-Zap!
The cats know damned well they aren't allowed on cupboards and counters. We have taught them this with shouts and water bottle squirting. We know they know because on the occasions I've caught Dinah on the kitchen counter, she springs up and bolts from the room before I can even say anything.
You'll notice it doesn't keep her off the counter, though. In fact, I sometimes find little paw prints on the glass stove top in the morning. (Dorah isn't a problem--she's so fat, she can barely jump onto the bed. A counter may as well be the moon.)
This bothers me quite a lot. Cat feet are gross. They dig around in the litter box and are on the floor. I wouldn't want a human's bare feet on my food prep surfaces, let along a cat's. I spend a lot of time cleaning my countertops.
Last week, though, I bought some pet training mats. They're rubbery mats that run the length of the counter or table, with a controller and a battery. They react to touch, and you can set them to beep loudly, to deliver an electric shock (that you can set from "What was that?" to "OH MY GOD THE PAIN!"), or both. Animals who touch the mat learn quickly not to do it again, but of course, they don't associate the discomfort with the mat--they associate it with the place. Soon, they don't enter that space anymore.
I unrolled a set of these on the kitchen counters, the stove, and the dining room table, then set them to give a loud beep and an "ouch!" level shock. Then we went to bed.
Not five minutes later, Darwin and I heard a BEEP! from the kitchen, followed by an instant thump and skittering sounds. I went into the kitchen to have a look. Dora was watching me with mild curiosity from under the table, while Dinah had utterly vanished.
We took to leaving the mats out at night and whenever we left the condo. We didn't hear any more BEEP/thump/skitter noises when we were home. A couple days ago, I decided to test the theory that Dinah wasn't jumping up anymore. I sprinkled flour across the stove top and didn't leave the mats out, then left the condo. When I got back, I saw no cat prints in the flour. I left the flour for the rest of the day and all that night. No cat prints.
I told this to Darwin and wondered aloud if we didn't need to put out the mats anymore.
"We should leave them out a while yet," Darwin said, so we did.
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You'll notice it doesn't keep her off the counter, though. In fact, I sometimes find little paw prints on the glass stove top in the morning. (Dorah isn't a problem--she's so fat, she can barely jump onto the bed. A counter may as well be the moon.)
This bothers me quite a lot. Cat feet are gross. They dig around in the litter box and are on the floor. I wouldn't want a human's bare feet on my food prep surfaces, let along a cat's. I spend a lot of time cleaning my countertops.
Last week, though, I bought some pet training mats. They're rubbery mats that run the length of the counter or table, with a controller and a battery. They react to touch, and you can set them to beep loudly, to deliver an electric shock (that you can set from "What was that?" to "OH MY GOD THE PAIN!"), or both. Animals who touch the mat learn quickly not to do it again, but of course, they don't associate the discomfort with the mat--they associate it with the place. Soon, they don't enter that space anymore.
I unrolled a set of these on the kitchen counters, the stove, and the dining room table, then set them to give a loud beep and an "ouch!" level shock. Then we went to bed.
Not five minutes later, Darwin and I heard a BEEP! from the kitchen, followed by an instant thump and skittering sounds. I went into the kitchen to have a look. Dora was watching me with mild curiosity from under the table, while Dinah had utterly vanished.
We took to leaving the mats out at night and whenever we left the condo. We didn't hear any more BEEP/thump/skitter noises when we were home. A couple days ago, I decided to test the theory that Dinah wasn't jumping up anymore. I sprinkled flour across the stove top and didn't leave the mats out, then left the condo. When I got back, I saw no cat prints in the flour. I left the flour for the rest of the day and all that night. No cat prints.
I told this to Darwin and wondered aloud if we didn't need to put out the mats anymore.
"We should leave them out a while yet," Darwin said, so we did.
That very night just after bedtime, we heard BEEP!/thump/skitter. So while the mats are improving the situation, the problem hasn't been entirely solved yet. We'll keep using them until it is.
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