Help! Keeping Off Counters/Away from Plants

[GillieGirl]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered numerous times but one of my cats is "special". I've tried everything to keep him off the countertop. Tin foil? Doesn't care. Anything citrus scented? Doesn't care. I even tried putting half an orange on the counter and he played with it. Doesn't care about the spray bottle either. He likes water. A coffee can with pennies to make a lot of noise? Just looks at me like I'm crazy. When I walk angrily toward him he jumps down but then sneaks up in the middle of the night. I know this because my seedlings on the windowsill are knocked over in the morning.

I don't have anything on the counter to tempt him. Both cats have plenty of other high surface jumping areas. There's no standing water in the sink. The only allure is a window over the sink. They both have plenty of other open windows and window ledges to sit on.

Any other ideas?

 

[bear]

A wonderful intelligent lady once told me.
"I almost have my cats trained to not be on the counters when I am close enough to see them."

 

[GillieGirl]

A wonderful intelligent lady once told me.
"I almost have my cats trained to not be on the counters when I am close enough to see them."

Hahaha - so very true.

 

[di and bob]

The only thing I have found that really works, is easily moved, and can be put back, is a clear carpet protector runner with the little nubs on the back. Cut it to fit and place it with the little nubs facing up. You might have to anchor it for a while with double-sided tape but I never did. It hurts their feet to walk on it and they avoid the area. Remove it when they get out of the habit. If they like your window there, put it where they would walk to get to it. It really works!

 

[vince]

You have my sympathy. The best I've been able to do is to get them to obey the command "down." Of course, once down, they'll usually get back on the counter in a minute or so. I think they just view it as a game.

Bear's comment is also true. If they hear me coming, they'll jump off the counter. I can hear them do it.

 

[artiemom]

Cats are cats.... I just gave up on plants and flowers... of all types.

 

[suzeanna]

For knocking over plants -- I cluster mine closely together and create a barrier of sorts between the part of the windowsill with plants vs. windowsill with free space where she can hang out. Maybe something like a sturdy box with stuff in it (so they can't knock it over) will prevent them from trying to get to the seedlings side?

 

[arr]

The only thing that works for me are SSScat cans that make a loud puff of air when they sense a cat near them. You can also put one near a plant if they develop a fixation with it. They are really effective if used consistently, but there are drawbacks. They are expensive, you have to buy refills surprisingly often because the humans will inadvertently set them off almost more than the cats, you have to buy batteries and as the batteries grow weak they lose their effectiveness. You have to disarm them every time you need something from the kitchen. But they do work, at least for our cats.

I haven’t been using mine lately because of the hassles I mentioned above and because we were out of town and I didn’t want the pet sitter to have to deal with it, so now the cats are jumping on the counters again. I need to get the gumption to start using them again. To be honest, I’ve just been wiping down my food prep area with a sanitizing solution whenever it’s time to cook and calling it good enough. They know I don’t want them up there so they rarely do it in front of me, I think it’s mostly when I’m not around, and somehow I can deal with the knowledge of it when I’m not seeing it.

As far as the plants go, they seem most attracted to long pointy leaves, so I have two sacrificial spider plants that now belong to them. The rest of my plants either don’t interest them or I sprayed them with bitter apple spray which really deters chewing. The sacrificial plants were a huge game changer, I would highly recommend it. Considering I have about 30 plants and they only bother the two sacrificial ones, I think I’ve had major success.

 

[Kflowers]

I went for all hanging baskets. Boston Fern is good, it won't kill your cat if she eats it. Some don't even notice the baskets.

 

[vince]

In my earlier posting, I only spoke of their getting on counters. As far as house plants go, the half-life of a potted plant around here is about two hours! My cats are particularly fond of maidenhair ferns. Those only last about 20 minutes, and that means eaten right down to the dirt.

 

[maggie101]

I have started hissing. Immediately after I put my cat down she jumps back up. 10x before I put bowls down to feed my 3 cats

 

[Kflowers]

Years ago I realized it was easier for my sanity if I accepted cats will get on counters. I lock them out of the kitchen while cooking. Wash down the counters and get on with it. Then let them back in when done. It's really less stressful than trying to fight Nature.

 

[DreamerRose]

I agree wholeheartedly with arr . Ssscat works wonders for me. It's kept Lily off the counters for years now, and it only took a few times of her getting hissed at to stay off, but it's been a failure on the dining room table. I really hate that because she leaves paw prints on the table. I've shouted at her to get down enough that she's like others have said and only hops down when she hears me coming. I also have a spider plant that sort of sacrificial. It's the only plant Mingo likes, and he will chew on it early in the morning to get me out of bed. Then he throws up.

 

[LTS3]

TCS has an article: How To Keep Cats Off Counters And Tables – TheCatSite Articles

Can you put the plants in a room the cat has no access to? Or put up a wall shelf for the plants? Or put the plants on a rolling cart that you can move in front of a window as needed and then maybe into a closet or bathroom with the door closed at night since the plants won't need light then? There are pictures in this thread with TCS members' plant set ups: Share Your Indoor Plant Pictures

 

[Kflowers]

One thing about shouting at a cat on a good wood table is you may frighten her which means she'll put her express gear down and fly off the table leaving scratches. Here is what you do to get rid of the scratches, whatever color the wood is, put a good thick layer of mayonnaise on the scratches, 1/2 inch is good. Cover them with paper towels and something with enough weight that the cat can't move it and lick off the mayo. In the morning wipe off the remaining mayo. The scratches should be gone. Repeat if needed. This also works for dog claws, which are considerable larger and wider and just more than cat claws.

 

[Kflowers]

just to be, well the way I am, if you have hanging plants in the room with cats, be sure that the cats can eat the leaves without problem. Even if they can't reach the baskets, leaves will fall off from time to time and the cats will eat the dried out wanna-be paper things.

 

[danteshuman]

My twerp wants to eat the sticky tape! Instead of learning ho stay off the counter, he thinks he is supposed to run over it very quickly!

Unless you want to give up; I would try SSScat motion activated spray. It sprays them with a blast of air every time they activate the motion sensor

Please tell us what works for you?