Our cats have successfully learned not to go on the bench when we are around, but they still hop up there when we aren't. If we happen to catch them, they immediately jump off and run to hide. I'm immunocompromised and the thought of the cats walking through their litter and then walking over our food preparation areas concerns me.
Here's the details:
The cats are sisters and rescues, we estimate they're about 3 years old. They are fairly intelligent and although we had some teething problems early on, I have used positive reinforcement to teach them the behaviours we want to see, i.e. only using their designated scratching posts, not being in the kitchen while food is being prepared, not begging for food, etc. They used to jump on the bench regularly and we dealt with it (and other misbehaviour) by clapping our hands loudly and then giving treats when they jumped down. This method worked to teach them not to jump on my work desk (the only other place in the house they are not allowed) but has not worked with the bench.
Our spare room is their room. It has a queen bed with cushions and blankets, the other cat tree, water, litter and food as well as a few places to jump and toys to play. Up until a few months ago they would sleep in that room overnight and we'd round them up in there if neither of us was going to be home. We stopped doing this because a) it was getting exhausting rounding the cats up every time we left the house and b) I miss having cats on the bed at night and deemed them old enough now that they won't go tearing up and down the hallway and keep me up at night or go places they know they shouldn't. Turns out they do in fact get on the bench overnight. The little greasy paw prints are unmistakable.
I would very much like not to have to lock them up again, as I think they do really enjoy being able to sleep with us and we both like it too. I don't want to have to go back to the old ways but I also can't seem to keep them off the bench to save their freedom.
I have eliminated all of the common reasons why cats might jump on the bench:
- We are meticulously clean, never leaving food or dirty dishes on the bench and always wiping up after we use the kitchen.
- We have no other pets and nothing that might encourage them to seek a safe/high place. The kitchen does not get direct sunlight and no windows or anything particularly interesting to see.
- We live in a large 2 bedroom apartment and the cats are allowed everywhere except on the bench and on my work desk. There are high shelves and two large cat trees for them to perch, one of which is on the wall opposite the kitchen and is higher than the bench.
- We keep a rotating roster of toys so that every few weeks there's something 'new' for them to play with. We also engage in play with both of them at 4-5 times a week until they get bored of the game. I also have some cat grass that they enjoy playing with/chewing and we bust out the puzzle feeder every now and again. There is plenty to keep them amused and exercised.
Here's what we've tried so far:
- Positive reinforcement for correcting behaviours as mentioned above, when I first taught them not to go on the bench they'd get treats for staying on the ground/out of the kitchen and treats for jumping down when corrected.
- Prevention, i.e. until a few months ago they never had unsupervised access to the kitchen.
- Alternatives, i.e. a cat tree next to the kitchen counter which is higher and more comfy
- Baking trays along the edges of the kitchen. Our girls just jumped over the trays onto the middle of the bench.
- Double sided tape. Again, they'd just jump over the tape and we found it impossible and impractical to cover the entire bench.
- Citrus scent. They don't like the smell but it doesn't do anything to deter them, no matter how overpowering.
- Tin foil. While this did serve to audibly alert us (if we were awake to hear it) they didn't seem at all put out by the noise or feeling. They do not respond negatively to loud noises except for us clapping loudly.
- Plastic prickle mats. Again, they would just walk carefully. They're small cats and their paws could fit between the spikes. I'm sure it wasn't comfortable to walk on but not enough to deter them.
We have an island kitchen with the sink in the middle of one island and the range top in the middle of the other, making full coverage of any substance difficult and impractical. I looked into those motion detecting air jets but they only have a 1m range and our kitchen counter can be accessed from 3 different directions and is about 2.5m length. The other counter is easier, it is one side access and about 2m, but we would still need to buy about 8-10 of them. I know some might say you don't need full coverage but as I've previously noted, our girls are quite smart and will find a way to circumvent whatever we've set up to deter them.
The only other thing I've seen that might actually work is the shock mats, but I'm reluctant to use them because a) I'm not a huge fan of negative reinforcement, b) the kitchen is hard to cover completely and c) in order to do so we'd need to buy many different mats of different sizes to fit them together and that's prohibitively expensive.
r/pets... please help!
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/oj83ld/keeping_cats_off_the_kitchen_bench/
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