How to stop a cat from climbing tables - methods to discourage mischief

Many owners of furry pets tend to believe that a cat is a liquid.
How else to explain their phenomenal ability to fit into jars, saucepans and other small containers. And even though such pranks cause affection among good-natured owners, there are things that need to be stopped. For example, walking on the table. Everyone is already accustomed to the fact that cat hair is a home insulation and a special type of spice. But dirty paws , which may have been in the potty before, can bring a lot of pathogenic microorganisms onto the table, which is already dangerous for two-legged members of the family.

In this article we will talk about how to wean a cat from climbing on the table, the reasons for this phenomenon, the possible consequences for your four-legged pet, and methods of dealing with harmful behavior using humane methods.

Reasons for deviant behavior

We love our pets with all our hearts, but we must admit that the squad of furry domestic terrorists should be divided into subcategories:

• Caressing cat;
• Thief cat;
• Taskmaster Cat;
• Tracker cat;
• Frozen cat;
• The cat is an ordinary cat.

We need this to establish the reason that prompts the cat to climb onto the table, and to choose a method for correcting the situation.

Why does the cat climb on the table? 6 reasons

Wants attention

A common situation is that a child is doing homework, and the cat lays down on notebooks, books, and throws off pens and pencils. Or you are working at the computer and a furry one lies down on the keyboard and tries to climb onto the monitor. All these are ways to attract attention , the same can be an attempt to climb onto a table.

Hunting

Even an empty table retains the smells of food, which arouses the cat’s interest. Despite the presence of food in the bowl, the cat will probably want to try your food too, in case it tastes better and contains more meat. And who can resist the opportunity to “get” a piece of delicacy with a clawed paw from under the nose of an inattentive owner. The presence of food near the edge of the table is perceived by cats as a challenge to their hunting instincts .

Monitoring the situation

In nature, representatives of the cat family prefer to rest and look out for a future meal from above . Domestic cats do not have an urgent need to rest in a safe place and hunt, but the climbing instinct is also present. A table is a great place from which to look around a room or kitchen. That's why climbing on it is the duty of every decent cat.

Curiosity.

This is especially true for small kittens, who need to explore every object, sniff everything, taste it and play.

Cold

Despite the presence of fur, cats in the house also freeze . Most often due to the presence of drafts on the floor, which a person may not notice. Therefore, the cat can choose the table as a warm place.

Special temperament

Some cats believe that they are the masters of the house. Therefore, they dictate the rules of behavior for their two-legged cohabitants.

Why cats love to climb

Before you can take steps to keep your cat away from tables, you must understand why she likes to climb. Think of it this way: cats love to hunt birds, and most birds live in trees. Meanwhile, small rodents and ground prey are easier to catch from above. Climbing also helps cats stay away from potential predators.

In your home, your cat will often seek out high places to act on these instincts. Tall bookshelves will give them a better view of the room. If other pets or small people spend a lot of time on the floor, your cat may seek out your tables to avoid interacting with them.

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They may also find that food scraps and crumbs are often left on your table, leading to "counter-surfing" behavior.

Almost every cat will want to get in, so it's a matter of redirecting them rather than stopping them completely.

Should I stop my cat from walking on the table? What is the danger?

The question of how to wean a cat from climbing on the table is important from the point of view of hygiene and safety not only for you, but also for the pet itself.

What can result from negligence on the part of a person in this matter:

1. Infections and parasites

Cats, unlike people, do not wash their paws . In addition, cats with access to the street do not hesitate to hunt for mice or birds. While eating, a person can put, for example, bread on the table where a cat had previously walked, and introduce dangerous microorganisms into his body.

Animal injuries

Animal injuries. There are often objects on the table that are dangerous to play with. Injury can also occur when trying to climb onto the table using the tablecloth, thereby knocking something heavy over yourself.

Products dangerous for cats

Humans and representatives of the animal world have completely different dietary needs, and products that a person consumes without consequences for himself can cause allergies in a furry friend, and in advanced cases, serious disorders of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, and pancreas.

Violation of discipline

Relaxation on one issue will inevitably lead to other violations of the rules of cohabitation.

Briefly about parenting strategies

Before moving on to the tips themselves, you should dwell on the owner’s attitude towards the behavior of his pet. Remember that trying to limit a cat’s needs while angry or irritated is a waste of time. Intimidating a cat, or worse, physically punishing it, will not be difficult. But the consequences of such measures will be depressing.

Rough impact on your pet will not lead to positive results.

If you choose the wrong parenting methods, you will get one of two things. Or a frightened cat with a lot of phobias, who will be afraid to go out to people and be in constant stress. Or an embittered cat who, to spite you, will continue to visit forbidden places just to assert his right. All these painful manifestations can be avoided if you choose a competent strategy.

The most difficult, but also the most correct way out is to reach mutual understanding with the cat on the issue of boundaries.

Many of the measures that will be listed below may seem cruel and bizarre to the owners. In a sense, this is true. All subsequent methods are based on causing a sharp negative reaction in the cat and experiencing stress. In other words, all tips for weaning a pet are based on negative reinforcement in the terminology of behaviorism. Therefore, the experience of frustration is inevitable for a cat.

Method 1. Use the latest gadgets

How to stop a cat from walking on the table if you don’t have time to watch it all day? You can try to use technological innovations, the creators of which have already taken care of everything. For example, there are special vibrating mats, air cannons with a motion sensor, and robot repellers .

Vibromats

To use a vibrating mat, you will have to fill almost the entire surface of the table with objects and leave a small free space for the device. When the cat tries to climb, the mat turns on and begins to vibrate . As a result, the cat gets really scared when things start to buzz and vibrate under its paws, and loses interest in the scary place.

Ultrasonic robots

The CatNani robot moves independently on the table, recognizing the edges of the tabletop. When a cat tries to climb onto a prohibited surface, the robot fires a “warning” ultrasound shot .

Robot Catnani

If the cat did not understand the first time, then the robot fills the territory entrusted to its protection with a citrus aroma . But this method can also have a negative result - the cat can throw the annoying car off the table and calmly climb to where it needs to be.

Robots that shoot compressed air

The ARGUS protection device has a motion sensor. When the cat tries to pass by, he will shoot compressed air . The sensor's coverage angle is quite wide and it will respond not only to the cat, but also to all household members within its reach. Therefore, it is advisable to turn on this unit during periods of absence of owners near the territory protected from the cat.

You will have to buy spare cans as needed, so those who are thrifty will not like the idea. But according to animal psychologists, this is one of the most successful options for solving the problem.

How to wean a kitten

These methods are good to use if the cat is an adult or a teenager. If a kitten has acquired the habit of climbing on tables, then it also needs to be weaned from this. You need to influence a very small animal not as extreme as in the above methods, but more loyally.

Essential oils

5 humane ways to stop a cat from climbing on the table

You need to soak the tablecloth with aromatic essential oils. Fluffies really do not like the smell of citrus fruits, lavender and rosemary, so they will not approach a place that emits an unpleasant aroma for them.

Advice! If you don’t want to soak the tablecloth, you can do it simpler - spread citrus peels on the table surface.

Scare

You can try to scare the kitten as it prepares to jump. Of course, this should be done not aggressively and without unnecessary noise. For example, you can throw a small soft toy at it or gently spray water from a spray bottle.

In order for the kitten to understand that the unpleasant action occurred precisely when trying to climb onto a piece of furniture, you need to make sure that he does not see that the owner is performing all these actions. Otherwise, the kitten will not develop this instinct.

Do something else

It is necessary to buy toys for your baby. There are times when a kitten climbs onto pieces of furniture in search of missing toys, or if he is already bored with the ones he has. The conclusion suggests itself - you need to go to the pet store and buy everything necessary for entertainment for your pet. At the same time, you should remove from the table everything that might interest the kitten so that it loses all interest in it.

Using the methods listed above, you can easily wean your cat from jumping on the countertop.

Method 3. Rearrange the furniture

If the cause of the chaos is the cat’s inability to get to the right place by other means, then it would be more logical to clear the way for him. Most often, due to the natural characteristics of the cat family, cats need to monitor the situation on the street from the window . Therefore, if there is a table on the way to it, the cat can climb on it.

A table by the window will attract a cat like a magnet, because there are so many interesting things happening outside the window.

Method 4: Use a spray bottle of water, but with caution

Suitable for animals that do not really like water, but are not afraid of it either. Otherwise:

- may be perceived as a game if the cat really likes to swim;

- It may be difficult to wash the animal in the future if the cat gets very stressed.

The method consists of spraying the animal with a spray bottle when it tries to jump onto the table or when it is in the wrong place.

Method 6. Pay attention to education in childhood

Education from early childhood . Kids quickly get used to everything new and learn. Any attempt to jump on the table must be stopped. Usually it is enough to knock loudly on the table on which the attack is being made. If you see that the kitten is getting ready to jump (before the jump, cats gather into a spring and try on), you can pick it up and move it to another room. If you have already jumped, knock on the table and remove the cat.

Method 8: Use double-sided tape, but only under supervision

For these purposes, you can choose regular office double-sided tape, but there is a better option. There are special double-sided adhesive tapes that protect against cats. For example, Sticky Paws.

They work like this: when the cat decides to jump on the table, its paws will stick, and these sensations are very unpleasant for cats . As a result, the fluffy one will jump off and try not to repeat the mistakes again.

This method is not suitable for long-haired cats , because... the glued wool will have to be cut off. The cat may also get scared and begin to behave unpredictably. This risks the fact that he may become entangled in the tape or eat it while trying to free himself. Therefore, this method is only good under human supervision.

Method 9. Use foil, but very carefully

After the furry lawless creature tries to jump on the table, his paws will begin to slip, and the foil will rustle disgustingly. Cats don't like .

To prevent traumatic situations, this method is carried out only under human supervision . Having slipped, the cat may fall unsuccessfully, may begin to show interest in the foil and try to eat it. If you notice that the animal is playing with the foil, it is better to remove it altogether and use another method.

Provide an alternative

If a cat is not allowed to jump on the table, then there must be a place where it can jump . Cats love to climb somewhere higher. Roaming at heights and viewing their territory from above is one of the most important needs of cats. She must be satisfied, otherwise you will get a lot of problems with your pet's behavior.

The more places in your apartment you can look down from, the less the cat will be attracted to the table.

Every cat's dream is a lot of shelves on the walls, on which you can freely walk and move from one surface to another without going down to the floor.

Window sills and hanging cabinets are great for climbing. If you remove everything unnecessary from them and place several cozy bedding at a height, over time the cat will lose interest in the table.

Method 10. Set up a room or kitchen with climbing areas

Climbing to high places is one of the cat's instincts . If it is not possible to climb on them, a table is used. That is why, to satisfy the need for climbing, it is worth purchasing various vertical houses and scratching posts or equipping a play area for the cat yourself (all sorts of ropes, beds, pipes, and so on). With this alternative, the cat can easily forget the way to the kitchen table, which means our mission is completed.

Why the kitchen?

First of all, there is so much to do in the kitchen! Agree, where else can you see a real meat grinder, get acquainted with a seaming machine, meet plates with pieces of lunch carelessly left in the sink, see so many jars on the countertop that you can play with while the owners are busy with their own affairs?

In addition, it is in the kitchen that a large number of different aromas accumulate - fish, meat, hot, sweet, spicy. And cats, as you know, have an excellent sense of smell, which, coupled with curiosity, makes them explore the kitchen far and wide.

It is also important that the cat most often eats itself in the kitchen, which means that it is always tempted to taste the host’s dishes, which lie appetizingly on plates or in salad bowls. Sometimes the owners themselves help her in this, who like to feed the purr from the table, thereby making it clear that she is openly welcome in the kitchen, and she is at her complete disposal day and night