Cat people - How do I keep her OFF things?

xbrooklyngrl

Boo is just starting to jump on crap and I saw her on my table this morning. Is she nuts? How do I make sure she's not a table, counter, bed walker?

Also, I think she's on crack. At night, she starts to totally lose her f*cking mind and goes nuts in my house.

Here's a pic from a few weeks ago for you cat lovers.

Mominator

It's a process. You just need to either shoe her off of stuff and/or make a loud "psht" type sound that will startle her. Its all about consistency in the beginning. As for the crazies at night, totally normal, most cats tend to be more nocturnal and sleep all day.

summerbrideDC

She's adorable!

Yeah, the on crack thing is totally normal--my 3 year old kitties still run through the house like they're on fire on a nightly basis. ?One is named "Crash" specifically because of his penchant for crashing into furniture to help himself stop running.

Good luck w/ keeping her off things--cats, in my experience, aren't trainable like dogs and they pretty much think they own the house and are letting you live there with them out of the goodness of their hearts. ??

DandelionMom

They're both too cute! 

Get a spray bottle full of water to squirt her with when she's on something she shouldn't be.  Put aluminum foil on surfaces she's not allowed.  And provide her with something she is allowed to climb on (like a cat tree or a windowsill perch) to redirect her to. 

Bellisimo

I can't answer from experience since I'm highly allergic to cats and, therefore, have never owned one...but just the other day I saw a segment on one of the morning shows about how to keep cats off countertops/tables.  One suggestion was to put sheets of aluminum foil on the counter because apparently they don't like the sound/texture of it.  I can't remember all the other tips but another was putting water in a large container on the table/counter.  Guess it's worth a shot. 

breezee_bean

we use a squirt bottle with water when they're on stuff they aren't supposed to be on. 

mlm1128

My cat never gets on the counters.  She will get on the Dining Room table only if there is something on it that looks comfy to sleep on.  I used to just push her off when she tried it and it didn't take her long to figure out she should stop.

And they all go whacko at some time dutring the day until they get older and lazy.  Mine used to freak out under the bed while we were trying to sleep.  Fun times for a while there.

She looks alot like my cat.  I hope her hair doesn't get as long!

debs1018

Ahh welcome to the life of a kitten

My cat still jumps on things but not as bad as when she was a kitten. There is really nothing you can do except shoo her down. Some people believe in the water bottle trick. spray her when you dont want her doing it, BUT I think that is so mean. I never did it.She is just being a kitty KWIM?

As for the night terror....LOL...its what they do. As she gets "older" it will slow down. I think its so funny when they go crazy like that...the tail gets all puffy...

 

Enjoy her! 

j-w

summerbrideDC:

Good luck w/ keeping her off things--cats, in my experience, aren't trainable like dogs and they pretty much think they own the house and are letting you live there with them out of the goodness of their hearts.   

This.  I am soooooooooo much more a dog person.  Our first cat was a blind cat that we rescued and he, obviously, didn't have any bad cat habits.  When he was gone, we got a kitten and oh man, they are whack!!!!  I will say, we used a spray bottle to keep him off stuff because it just kind of grosses me out to think he is walking all over the counters, tables, etc.  Our vet recommended the spray bottle.  I just got one from the beauty supply and when he went to jump we'd spray him and say DOWN!  He really only jumps on his cat tower now.  Oh and I'd recommend getting a cat tower if you don't have one, so she has somewhere that is ok.

VivaAmore

summerbrideDC:

She's adorable!

Good luck w/ keeping her off things--cats, in my experience, aren't trainable like dogs and they pretty much think they own the house and are letting you live there with them out of the goodness of their hearts.   

Ditto both of these and the spray bottle.

xbrooklyngrl

the spray bottle does sound kind of mean. I'll just keep trying to shoo her off, She just started this craziness.

She also likes to eat her food while standing on the food dish. WTF?

mlm1128

They're all weird.  Mine won't eat unless her dish is over full.  She's persian, so she has a flat face and I guess she thinks she can't reach it otherwise. 

debs1018

You will come to learn that cats are just weird...there is no rhyme or reason to them...that's what makes them so funny!

hopefulmom

We've just shoed her off.  People will say their cat never gets on their table or counters (my oldest DD used to say this) but they do it at night when you are sleeping.  One time my DD left an unwrapped chocolate bar on the counter and in the morning it had been partially eaten.  Oh...she did NOT have mice.  lol

The spray bottle works pretty well.  My cat loves to step on plastic and doesn't mind aluminum at all.  She likes the feel of it.  They even make cat toys out of it so not sure why they would give that as a deterrant.  Course my cat has no claws so maybe that makes a difference.

Dimplz

Spray bottle.

We have two cats so I always keep my spray bottle handy. They stay off of the counters now!

femmegem

Cats are just weird. Period. That's part of what I love about them. Most of them hate aluminum foil, but, as the PP said, some don't mind it.

I've tried the spray bottle with our one cat, but it never seemed to phase him, so I stopped. We just shoo them down when they're on the table or counter.

And it never ceases to crack me up when they go careening around the house when they're in their crazy moods. Ah, good stuff. Another thing I love is when there's one tiny piece of paper on the floor somewhere and they have to sit on that. So silly.

Boo is SO adorable. No wonder you had to keep her!