Keeping Kittens Off Kitchen Counters

My mom and I have two kittens (Tabbies) that are 6 months old. When we first got them, they found a way to peel the paneling off from underneath the kitchen counters and then go through the opening into a crawl space. My mom and I knew this was extremely dangerous and did not want them getting trapped or injured, so we found a way to block off that area to them by placing shoebox bins with items inside them in the space below the counters. However, now the kittens use the shoe box bins to try to jump off the kitchen counters. The counters are slick granite, and sometimes, they are not able to get enough of a foothold to climb up, but they are still somehow able to jump up there frequently enough to make it frustrating. This wouldn't bother me except for the fact that if we're cooking or preparing food, we don't want them up there, so we don't want them to learn that it's okay to jump up on the counters.

We have tried blocking the counters by putting jugs of water at the edges of the counter so that it creates a kind of wall, but the kittens have now found a way to sink their claws into the jugs and then still climb up and over the jugs. We have also tried putting jugs on top of the shoe bins on the floor to make it more difficult for them to perch on the bins. But they have still found a way to place their paws on top of the caps.

We are getting frustrated because of how this is really disrupting our lives. We feel like we can't get anything done unless the kittens are asleep. Can't cook food, can't work (I work from home), etc. We have tried clapping our hands and saying "No" to them seriously when they stare up at the counter, pondering about jumping up there. Or even just going over and saying "No" sternly (but not angrily). But they just jump up there when we're not looking.

We have done research on solutions, but who wants to put tape on their kitchen counters? Or have aluminum foil on there? How does anyone cook with that stuff everywhere? I also don't want to put carpet runners or sandpaper on my counters. I have seen Sssscat, but I don't like the idea of an unknown gas being sprayed in the apartment... I don't trust the company enough to use it (even though they say it is safe). I don't even know if it would be enough to repel these kittens' intense goal to get up on those counters!! Some of the reviews say that it worked on their cats, and other reviewers say that it did nothing!

I tried making them a cat tree from a shelving unit and alternating shelves so they could use it like a stair, but they aren't interested in it at all unless I put them there and pet them. I don't know what to do to make it more enticing for them. I'm wondering if one issue is that it's in a totally different room from where I and my mom are located, so the cats don't want to be there - they want to be where we/people/attention/love are.

Would making the windows more available to them help? Maybe put them on the window sill if they try to jump on the counter? I have also tried distracting them with toys while my mom is cooking. But after a while, if they get bored, we need something that will still prevent them from jumping up even if we are asleep or not looking. We have thought about using essential oils as repellents, but doesn't the smell wear off after a while? Has anyone experienced success with using essential oils like peppermint, citrus, or lavender? And if so, how often did you have to apply it? Will it be strong enough to overcome these kittens' curiosity?

I have never had kittens before, so maybe that is one issue. When I was growing up, my family owned a cat, but I was too young when she was a kitten to remember anything of what it was like. She also had a totally different personality and was wayyyyyyyyy more laid back.

We love these kittens and that they're so curious, but we just want to make sure they stay out of our kitchen. Clearly, the kittens are very smart (since they have managed to outsmart us at every step), so we're desperate for ideas.

There's a TCS article on this very topic

How To Keep Cats Off Counters And Tables

Try some of the suggestions there and in the comments section.

Kittens are notoriously too curious for their own good. You'll have to keep up with firmly telling the cats NO and moving them away from the forbidden area. Many cats evntually grow out of the counter surfing and curtain climbing stage.

Put the kittens in a bedroom while you are cooking and eating. Their constant pitiful meowing to be let out can be hard to deal with but you'll get to cook and eat without a kitten getting in the way. Put on some music to drown out the meowing. Hot stoves are dangerous so keeping the kittens out of the kitchen until long after you're done cooking is the safest thing. Keep food off the counters to discourage the kittens from looking for a snack. Clean the counters after use and make sure the trash can is secure. A lot of people food are harmful to cats. People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets

Be sure to give the kittens plenty of play time with interactive toys like a fishing pole type toy. Bored kittens often look for things to do even if you have more than one kitten.

Make sure to feed the kittens plenty of food. Hungry cats are more apt to counter surf and have bad behaviors. 6 month old kittens should be free fed. They're eating machines. Most people like to provide canned food meals and provide a small amount of dry food for snacking on.

How much do they eat? Kittens need constant access to food, is it possible they’re looking for food on counters?

Why them being on a counter is such a problem to you? If they jump during door preparation, I’d suggest feeding them before you start cooking.

Personally I let go and I let my cats on the counters. I clean with the vinegar spray before I prepare food and I make sure the stove is secured as well. Is this something you think you could do?

Try a motion activated toy on the counter that talks, screams or sings. Lots in the toy aisles or Halloween sections.

Placemats sit double sticky tape won't be on your counters forever! I did that while placing a perch in the kitchen window, and my kitty stopped jumping on the counters in 3 weeks

Feed them well before you cook in the kitchen, they are most likely hungry. I have a stool that the one cat that likes my counters likes to sit on when i'm cooking, he learned he gets a few treats when he sits there, and not yelled at like he does when he gets on my counters. I also had 100% success with clear carpet runner, the plastic ones with littler nubs on the back, sold in a lot of Walmarts, carpet stores, and other places. You buy it usually by the foot. Younplace it nub side up. The little nubs hurt their feet without harming them and I lay a piece of it wherever I DON'T want them to be. It's clear so doesn't look bad, you just whisk it off and put it on the floor when you are cooking, or on the end they jump on, and it really works! It is not forever, just until they learn it hurts to jump up there!