# Kitchen worktops



## H&CB (Jul 2, 2015)

I have 5 month old kttens, brother and sister. They are exploring all over and testing themselves, thank fully safely so far. Before they can jump that high i want to be able to stop them from going on to the kitchen work tops permanently. Any training ideas. Thanks


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## Britt (May 18, 2014)

Good luck with that. Pooh keeps doing it no matter what (he isn't a kitten anymore, he is 4).


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

The only thing as far as training goes is to calmly keep lifting the kitten down every time they get up on the surface. If you do this over and over again the kitten will soon get the idea. 

But please bear in mind that unless you shut the cats out of the kitchen when you're not there they will (like all cats) get on the worktops in your absence. This is because cats love being up high.

You can reduce the risk of them climbing on your worktops by providing other places for them to sit or sleep up high in the kitchen - i.e. a tall cat tree, or shelves on the wall with a safe way up and down for them.

But for the sake of hygiene, I recommend you do what all of us who live with cat companions do, and wipe down your worktops each time before you prepare food. Also, never leave any food unattended on the worktop, including foods that cats don;t normally eat. Making the worktop uninteresting for a cat to explore is definitely important.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

I make the worktops a very scary place to be, with lots of banging and shouting when they get up there. I slap the worktop quite hard so it vibrates under their paws and say no very, very loudly. This is the only time I would ever use such a training method with the cats, but for me, worktops are off limits, no matter how tempting. I make my food up there and there are hot things like cookers, pots of sauce etc, and sharp things like knives. This is non-negociable in my house, and every one of my cats respects it. They will test the boundaries about every 6 months or so, but my approach remains the same, the worktops remain scary and the cats remain firmly on the floor.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

My cats are scared of nothing so slamming a bench wouldn't stop them, would hurt myself on the hard surface more than it would have any benefit for them. I just let them be, they are trained to stay down when I'm preparing food which is enough of a compromise for me. 
A pot of cold water after using the stove keeps it safe, knives are never left out and food isn't left unattended. As CM said, wipe benches down before use.

I know they would go up soon as I left the room so it's not worth stressing over.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

I'm with spottycats on this,Meeko loves being up on the work tops,he is a nosey boy.
Life is far too short to worry about pointless stuff,as for slapping the work top and scaring the **** out of him if he was to go up there,sorry not something I would recommend.
I wipe down before meal prep anyway so I don't see the problem,it does make for tidier kitchen surfaces too


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## chloe1975 (Mar 17, 2013)

As others have said imho life is too short to worry about it. Cats are explorers and there isn't much you can do to stop it. As SpottyCats said I make sure there is nothing dangerous or sharp left on the side and cool work surfaces down before leaving the room although thankfully they are less interested in the cooker more interested in the sink and drainer. Its wasted energy trying to stop them and i know as soon as we leave the room they will be up there anyway. i just make sure everything gets a good wipe down before anything is prepared there.


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

Ike's breeder said he didn't go on worktops. :Facepalm He soon learned the habit from my two 

There is only me and the kitties and I haven't been ill yet


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## popcornsmum (Jan 19, 2015)

Popcorn is always on the worktops! In fact she sits up there whilst I make dinner each night I always wipe the tops before I cook but she sticks to one corner which is fine! I wipe it once she jumps down too! she also uses the tops to jump on top of the cupboards and lay down!


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## Andyreww (Feb 17, 2015)

I think @chillminx pretty much covered everything! I basically share the same sentiments.
When Prynn got to the age that she could jump up onto the kitchen bunkers - it was funny at first, I'll admit; "How'd you get up there, you wee bugger?!  " But I knew I didn't want her up there for hygiene sakes, so I didn't want to let it become a habit. I just kept loudly - but not yelling or screaming - and firmly saying "No" and lifting her off. Took about a week to take, and then it progressed to her still jumping up, but jumping down whenever I said "No" or she saw me get off the couch, because she'd learned I wasn't going to let her up there. 
After about another week, she pretty much stopped altogether - but I also around that time got her a 6ft climbing tree, so I think that helped take care of the need to jump and climb up high! My kitchen door is pretty much always closed unless I'm in there now, so she doesn't have the chance, but now she won't even try it if I'm in the kitchen. She's allowed in on the floor, but that's it - though she will stand up against the lower cupboards to try and see what's going on!

But again, as chillminx says, they're cats. They'll try it any time they're left alone, even if they know not to when you're around lol. So just keep the door closed I'd say, whenever possible! 
Oh, and thumbs up to also just giving the units a wipe before you prepare any food, even if they've been up there or not - cat hair can travel!


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

I just close the door when I'm not around, so mine don't have the option to jump up when I'm not there. I do think that giving them somewhere they're allowed to be in the kitchen where they can see what's going on is very important. Mine have this, and are content to use it rather than the worktops.


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## QOTN (Jan 3, 2014)

Life is generally easier when you have cats if you accept that, in the main, in these sorts of situation they train you not vice versa. My one big exception is forbidding them to go near doors leading outside. They know I mean it then and I use the same voice at other times if necessary.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Guess it's just what people find acceptable, but it always interests me that people say they absolutely can't keep their cats off worktops. SC, for example, says she trains all of her cats to ignore open doors to the inviting outside through teaching them to stay, so why not the same for worktops?

Those who keep their cats in refuse to let them out, and will close doors to keep them away from the front door or employ all sorts of methods as to them, the cat going outside is simply unacceptable. Why can't the same be said for worktops, and the same or similar methods or mind set used to keep them off?

So why then is it so wrong to decide that you find it unacceptable to have a cat on your worktop? I'm not debating the rights and wrongs of methods here for keeping them off, but it's just very interesting to hear this consistent "I can't keep them off no matter what I do", yet if someone said "I can't keep my entire girl in the house no matter what I do and now she's pregnant," or "I can't stop my cat drinking from the toilet no matter what I do," or "I can't stop my cat sticking its paw in the fire no matter what I do," there'd be uproar.

If someone posts asking for ideas to keep their cat off the worktop, chances are that they actually want ideas to keep their cat off the worktop. Just because some folks think it's Ok for them to be up there doesn't make the rest of us monsters for deciding that actually it's not.


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## The Wild Bunch (Jul 16, 2014)

We have trained Daisy to get down. We started by picking her up and putting her on the floor but as we did so we said "get down" now, if she ever gets up (this is rare as she has her own shelf) we say "get down" and she jumps down. Cats are smart and can be trained to do as they are told. Offering alternative accommodation that is just for your kittens may do the trick


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree with @carly87 , it isn't difficult to train one's cats to stop jumping up on the worktops if one is determined about it. None of my cats jump on the worktops when I am there because I have trained them not to. But it's not to say they don't have a sneaky look around up there now when I am out of the room! So although I have never seen any paw-prints on the work tops, I always wipe down surfaces before preparing food.


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## QOTN (Jan 3, 2014)

chillminx said:


> I agree with @carly87 , it isn't difficult to train one's cats to stop jumping up on the worktops if one is determined about it. None of my cats jump on the worktops when I am there because I have trained them not to. But it's not to say they don't have a sneaky look around up there now when I am out of the room! So although I have never seen any paw-prints on the work tops, I always wipe down surfaces before preparing food.


The point I made before was exactly this. It is relatively easy to stop a cat doing something when you are there to supervise but to expect them to conform when they are not being watched is a recipe for disappointment for the owner. I tell my cats to stay away from outside doors when I am going in and out but I would never leave a door open and expect them to refrain from investigating if I am not there. That is why I said cats train owners not the other way round.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

carly87 said:


> Guess it's just what people find acceptable, but it always interests me that people say they absolutely can't keep their cats off worktops. SC, for example, says she trains all of her cats to ignore open doors to the inviting outside through teaching them to stay, so why not the same for worktops?
> 
> Those who keep their cats in refuse to let them out, and will close doors to keep them away from the front door or employ all sorts of methods as to them, the cat going outside is simply unacceptable. Why can't the same be said for worktops, and the same or similar methods or mind set used to keep them off?.


I don't open the doors and leave for the day  I wouldn't expect them to be in a sit/stay for hours on end with me not around.
With all the lovely Rosellas outside the kitchen window it's unrealistic to think they'll not sit up there watching. Training them not to jump up as I'm preparing food is a far better compromise.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

carly87 said:


> Guess it's just what people find acceptable, but it always interests me that people say they absolutely can't keep their cats off worktops. SC, for example, says she trains all of her cats to ignore open doors to the inviting outside through teaching them to stay, so why not the same for worktops?
> 
> Those who keep their cats in refuse to let them out, and will close doors to keep them away from the front door or employ all sorts of methods as to them, the cat going outside is simply unacceptable. Why can't the same be said for worktops, and the same or similar methods or mind set used to keep them off?
> 
> ...


From the majority of replies everytime this topic comes up I would reckon that if the members who replied saying "lifes too short to worry about work tops" were to stop posting then there would be very few replies.
Everyone to their own but IMO life really is too short to waste time and effort stopping what I see as a harmless activity,after all who doesn't wipe the work surface before using it


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## Kodi1981 (Jan 11, 2015)

H&CB said:


> I have 5 month old kttens, brother and sister. They are exploring all over and testing themselves, thank fully safely so far. Before they can jump that high i want to be able to stop them from going on to the kitchen work tops permanently. Any training ideas. Thanks


Hi there

I agree with the other comments.

Ensure that as soon as you have finished using the hob cover it with something like room temperature baking trays as kitties and cats can easily jump up and scald there paws/hind legs.


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

Anyone who thinks the cats don't get on the kitchen counters when they are not home is living in blissful innocence. LOL!!!! (unless you have a way to keep them out of the kitchen all together)

Just keep them off when you are working in there, the best way to do that is to provide other elevated spaces for them to perch so they can be up at your level seeing what's going on, not underfoot, and not on the counters

When you are not using the kitchen, keep the counters cleared of anything that can be knocked off, cause injury, broken, or eaten, and wipe them down with white vinegar before preparing food. : )

Life is much more peaceful when you follow these few simple steps.


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

carly87 said:


> Guess it's just what people find acceptable, but it always interests me that people say they absolutely can't keep their cats off worktops. SC, for example, says she trains all of her cats to ignore open doors to the inviting outside through teaching them to stay, so why not the same for worktops?
> 
> Those who keep their cats in refuse to let them out, and will close doors to keep them away from the front door or employ all sorts of methods as to them, the cat going outside is simply unacceptable. Why can't the same be said for worktops, and the same or similar methods or mind set used to keep them off?
> 
> ...


Agree with this.

My mum allowed her cats to walk over the kitchen counters and even fed one or two of them up there. She also used to sit and eat her tea on her lap, surrounded by the dog and 5 cats, waiting for titbits. She was happy with this arrangement.

I, on the other hand, trained my own cats not to jump onto the kitchen counters (even though I would clean them down before cooking, etc.). I also taught my dog not to sit and beg for food.

Each to their own. But, to say that it's not possible is simply not true. I would just keep putting the young cats down on the floor, or tell them down, and eventually they would get down on command, then just gave up bothering to jump up. Same rules for the dining table. (I can't guarantee they didn't get up when I wasn't there - but that wasn't the point for me.) They were allowed on window sills and other furniture and seemed to understand the difference - even if it was just because they knew they would be told to get down if I caught them


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Or when you train your cats to stay down! Mine are never on the worktops. My kitchen has a door. When I'm not home, I close it. Simples.


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## The Wild Bunch (Jul 16, 2014)

I know full well that Daisy is on my kitchen island when I'm not home but she gets down when she hears me coming down the hall. I just antibac my surfaces before cooking


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## urbantigers (Apr 13, 2014)

I am firmly in the life is too short to worry about worktops camp! But each to their own. If you don't want them on the worktops and can keep them off then go for it but if you try but fail then I wouldn't stress about it. I don't shut my boys out of the kitchen as they have a fairly small space anyway so I wouldn't want to restrict it further plus one of my boys likes to sit in the kitchen window and watch the world go by. He goes on the worktop but I don't worry as I can just wipe it before preparing food although I don't put food directly onto the worktop anyway - I use a chopping board which is stored on it's side and out of reach. I don't leave knives out and have a gas stove so not hot when switched off. Cats like being high up and don't distinguish between kitchen worktops and book cases etc.


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