You walk into your kitchen to make a sandwich, and much to your surprise - sitting there on your clean kitchen worktop - licking his paws, like he doesn't have a care in the world. - is your cat.
Now any caring cat owner wants their cat to feel at home in their house, but sitting on kitchen worktops is a habit you definitely want him to break!
The three questions I am going to try to address in this article are
1. Why does your cat jump on your kitchen worktops?
2. How did he manage to get up there?
3. How do you deter a cat from jumping on worktops?
Why does your cat jump on kitchen worktops
Your cat should not be scolded for the act of jumping on to your worktops, because in his eyes he is only doing what comes natural to him. From a very young age all cats instinctively know how to jump and climb. It is something they continue to do throughout their entire lives. If you do try to stop your cat from jumping and climbing, you would quite frankly be wasting your time. However this said there are certainly ways you can deter your cat from revisiting a particular spot (such as a kitchen worktop) and I will go into more detail about this later on.
All cats are predators - constantly seeking out high vantage points both inside and outside the house. The reason they do this is because it gives them a better overall view of what is going on in the area they are surveying. When your cat is sat on a windowsill you will notice his body language change when he spots either prey or another cat outside entering his territory. His tail will start swishing and sometimes he will also "chatter" or make a kind of throaty growling sound when he spots an unwelcome guest.
How did he manage to get up there?
Cats are possibly one of the most agile creatures, and it's all down to their supple framework. They use their hind legs to catapult themselves as high as 6 feet in the air. Kittens under the age of 4 months and very old cats do not always have sufficient spring in their legs to enable them to reach high places directly from the ground up, but from the age of as young as 4 weeks all cats are able to climb. This means they have the skills and the know-how to use any object near to their chosen destination as a stepping stone. An adventurous kitten will think nothing of shinning his way up a curtain - often causing havoc in the process - in an attempt to reach the windowsill!
How do you deter a cat from jumping on worktops
1 - Cats have a very strong dislike of the smell of the following:
Eucalyptus
lavender
citrus fruits
strong perfume
Leaving several cloths soaked in any of the above on the area you wish to stop your cat from revisiting can act as an effective deterrent, or simply try slicing up an orange and leaving the segments on the offending area:
2 - Leaving scraps of food can encourage your cat to jump up and help himself, so make sure your worktops are kept clean and free of titbits.
3 - Cats hate the sensation of walking over both bubble wrap and silver foil. Securing a piece of either to your worktops will soon discourage him from returning.
4 - If you see your cat on your worktop, try gently spraying him with a plant spray whilst he is still sat up there. It is important you do not chastise him verbally at the same time, otherwise he will not necessarily associate the forbidden place with the discomfort of being sprayed with water.
