# Stubborn Devon Rex - help!!



## saskiavanhal (Jan 3, 2011)

Hello,

I have a gorgeous Devon Rex who is 9 months old, adorable in every way except for her habit of jumping up on our living room table and on the kitchen tops hunting for scraps. We have water squirters on the table and in the kitchen and it worked for a while but now she just doesn't seem to care!! We squirt her every time but she is relentless. 

We have a second Devon Rex arriving in a few weeks which I'm thrilled about, but am getting concerned that I will be spending too much time squirting cats. How can I stop her?? Apart from the fact that I don't enjoy squirting her, it's becoming really annoying behavior. 

Any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Saskia


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

Hi Saskia 

I think there are a few people here who have been successful in preventing that sort of thing - hopefully they'll see your thread. I'm afraid to say most people eventually give up on trying to prevent their cat(s) from doing this and I'm one of those  After weeks/months of trying all sorts of things to prevent certain of our cats getting onto kitchen worktops we gave up... they did (some of the time!) avoid doing so when I was around to catch them, but two of our cats will be on the worktops the minute we're out of the room and still treat the kitchen table as though it's one large lazing-around platform.

They're shoo'd off worktops, if they dare, pretty damn quick when I'm preparing food but otherwise, when I've not been around, the tops and table just get a thorough wiping over before cooking/eating. 

I fear you might be fighting a losing battle with an intrepid Devon Rex or two... sorry I can't be of more help, hopefully you'll get some more input here.


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2011)

I have tried and failed to keep my cats off the worktops so i just wipe them down when i go to cook/prepare food, I tried squirting with water which my boy started to enjoy, tinfoil, trays filled with water - they loved this and paddled lots spilling water everywhere, the only thing i didn't try was double sided sticky tape and pepper, good luck but be aware that you are most likely fighting a losing battle


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## troublecat (Feb 1, 2011)

I haven't tried this myself but I have read that one way of preventing this is to booby trap the edge of the worktp where they jump up with a can or cans of pebbles. The idea is that they knock them to the floor when they jump up which makes a loud noise and so they associate jumping up with something not very nice.

Also cats are very reward led and they won't bother jumping up if there are no titbits or other rewards. So I guess that means making sure there are no scraps left around to reward them and no dishes in the sink to lick or washing up water to drink.


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2011)

troublecat said:


> Also cats are very reward led and they won't bother jumping up if there are no titbits or other rewards. So I guess that means making sure there are no scraps left around to reward them and no dishes in the sink to lick or washing up water to drink.


I have always kept my sides food free and they still like to be on the kitchen sides, see I would disagree with cats being reward led dogs yes but cats imo are just single minded and independant and if they want to sit on the kitchen worktops they will and they only sure way to stop it is to shut them out of the kitchen.


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## troublecat (Feb 1, 2011)

Well it depends on what the reward is, doesn't it? Candy is sitting on the high bookshelf behind my head for the reward of being higher, and therefore superior, to the rest of us! :lol:

So if the cat's reward is just being somewhere they are not supposed to (which would be pretty typical ) then yes, clean worktops are only going to matter from the point of view of having less cat drool to clear up! 

But I think that dogs are reward/discipline i.e. they need to know their place and being told is important to them; whereas cats know their place i.e. superior to humans, and if we are going to have a hope in hell of getting them to do anything then giving them some kind of reward at the end of it is the only way. And I know that part of the behaviour modification that I need to do with Candy's night time shenanigans is to try to ignore rather than reward her waking us up with feeding her or stroking or playing with her i.e. removing any reward. I guess it is just a case of choosing which battles are worth the effort! 

<btw I just got up to answer the phone to find Candy had jumped down and was sitting in my place at the laptop! :lol:>


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

GreyHare said:


> I have always kept my sides food free and they still like to be on the kitchen sides, see I would disagree with cats being reward led dogs yes but cats imo are just single minded and independant and if they want to sit on the kitchen worktops they will and they only sure way to stop it is to shut them out of the kitchen.


Totally agree cats can ,therefore cats do,simple.Why stress over something that you are never going to stop.A quick wipe down before you cook,eat ect is all that is required.They are curious by nature so they want to be on,see everything,and I doubt very much you will change that.When your out they will be up there so why not just give in and accept the inevitable.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

troublecat said:


> Really? I haven't had a cat yet that could be bribed or cajoled into anything by way of a reward. There are never things left around to be licked, nibbled or otherwise stolen but my cat will always jump up onto the table or work top. In fact I can leave food defrosting and she won't touch it. she just likes to be up there. Her favourite place is on top of the microwave.


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## troublecat (Feb 1, 2011)

But isn't a cornerstone of behaviour modification removing the reward for undesirable behaviour? I.e if a cat pounces on your face at 4 in the morning don't get up and feed it otherwise you can expect the same thing to happen every morning.

Of course, if the reward for a cat jumping on kitchen worktops is that they get a different place to explore and it's fun because it's up high and requires a bit of skill in getting up to then you can't exactly remove the reward without demolishing the kitchen. But it's still a reward, cats are far too intelligent to do things that don't have anything in it for them. 

I agree that little can be achieved with giving a reward, except perhaps catflap training and/or getting to come in from outside. But treats can be used so that cats associate something they don't like with something they do i.e. getting someone they don't like much to accept them by offering a titbit.

I'm not anticipating getting Molly to walk to heel any time soon though.


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## London Dogwalker (Oct 27, 2009)

Hmm....cats like to be in high places, if you have problems with animals performing their natural behaviours maybe don't get one? :arf: 

Tin foil can be another nasty....but I'd rather allow the animal to do what it feels comfortable with, and yes reward the cat for being on the floor. 

Look on youtube for some video tutorials on cat clicker training. :thumbup:


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

troublecat said:


> But isn't a cornerstone of behaviour modification removing the reward for undesirable behaviour? I.e if a cat pounces on your face at 4 in the morning don't get up and feed it otherwise you can expect the same thing to happen every morning.
> 
> Of course, if the reward for a cat jumping on kitchen worktops is that they get a different place to explore and it's fun because it's up high and requires a bit of skill in getting up to then you can't exactly remove the reward without demolishing the kitchen. But it's still a reward, cats are far too intelligent to do things that don't have anything in it for them.
> 
> ...


I dont understand why you would want to prevent a cat from doing what is in its nature to do,explore.If you stop a cat from being a cat you will end up with a very frustrated,stressed and possibly aggressive cat who cant do what nature designed it to do,climb,jump,explore its environement.It is something cat owners really just have to accept.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

If my cat pounced on me at 4 in the morning she certainly wouldn't be fed! That's a cats natural playtime and if I don't like her doing it she doesn't sleep in my room. She can sleep in the kitchen where she has toys to play with at that hour of the day. As it happens she prefers to stay in bed - lazy madam


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## troublecat (Feb 1, 2011)

buffie said:


> I dont understand why you would want to prevent a cat from doing what is in its nature to do,explore.If you stop a cat from being a cat you will end up with a very frustrated,stressed and possibly aggressive cat who cant do what nature designed it to do,climb,jump,explore its environement.It is something cat owners really just have to accept.


I'm not, as far as I know. 

Candy does jump up on the worktops and I don't stop her. I gave advice to someone who asked how to stop their cat doing the same thing based on what I'd do if I was.

I also use my laptop at the kitchen table and she lies next to me with her head beside the keyboard. :001_wub: I just give it a good wipe down before the kids eat off it!

But - I have an electic hob set into my worktops and Candy could seriously hurt herself on that as it stays hot even once it is off. Hob guards at the front aren't enough because she can walk across it from the side. In her interests it'd be better if she kept away. :frown:

(and I was joking about Molly  My ambition is maybe to be able to pick her up one day...)


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## Ianthi (Oct 21, 2008)

I'm just wondering since it's food motivated if he's doing it because he's genuinely hungry. What are you feeding him at the moment?

Perhaps you'll see less of this behaviour if his food portions are increased?


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## saskiavanhal (Jan 3, 2011)

Hello all and thanks for the replies,

To answer the questions, yes she is getting enough food. I realise that it's in the nature of the intrepid Devon Rex to be curious chancers, always looking for a cheeky nibble and that they love high surfaces. She'll do it straight after she's scoffed her food so it's not hunger. Theoretically, my dishes would never pile up in the sink, all food would be cleared away immediately from the table and I would be superwoman. However, I have three young children and my life is total chaos especially at meal times... 

Rewarding her would never work otherwise she's turn into the size of a house due to the frequency of her offending! Reading your comments, it seems like I need to accept it which I sort of feared...and soon it will be double trouble when my new (and totally adorable) kitten arrives - I'm counting down the days and can hardly wait  I'm still open to any miracle solutions out there but guess I'll just have to be faster around meal times.

Thanks again,
Saskia


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## troublecat (Feb 1, 2011)

Candy always jumps up after she's had her breakfast, I realised she's after the kids' cereal bowls in the sink! :lol:

I have three young children too and I bet you anything that your kitchen is a lot less, er, manic than mine.


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## Drewa (Dec 26, 2010)

Don't laugh but when I first got my boy I was trying to ENCOURAGE him onto the kitchen worktop!!!!! Unlike 90% of kitchens I've inherited one where the sink isn't under the window and so that's a perfect place for him to sit and watch "Cat's TV" as I call it i.e. all the birds,squirrels etc in the gardens we overlook (I live in a 1st floor flat). In the early days I used to put treats up there and even tried to lift him up once, but got badly scratched for my trouble! Shouldn't have bothered as he's found it for himself now, but I have to remember to lift the blind before I go to bed so he has something to do before I get up!


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