Wasabi and lemon juice, diluted in water and used in a spray bottle to coat the counters works great!

Um...that foil thing only works for some cats. We tried to best any angry and vindictive little furry angel from urinating in his favorite corner when we slighted him (ie: didn't pet him immediately when coming home) and not only would he gleefully urinate on the foil but he eventually discovered a way to move the foil up urinate and cover it with foil - our wood floors will never be the same. :(

This is a terrible but true story - i was literally lighting my gas stove just as my cat jumped up onto it and WHOOSH smell of burnt whiskers filled the kitchen. He was about a year old at that point. He's 14 now, and though he just burnt the very tip of his whiskers (thank god!) he has NEVER tried to jump onto the stove since. He will only go onto the counter if there are flowers to be eaten and even that seems a lot less these days.

I have heard and know first hand that lemon is an effective cat repellant. My cat is a menace at dinner time and i love to douse my food in lemon so he usually leaves me alone and pesters other folks at the table. Perhaps a few days of sliced lemons on the surface of the stove/counter will serve to deter the cat?

My cats love to chew on aluminum (and crinkly plastic) so I'm careful about leaving any loose pieces or sheets around. No desire for another emergency cat surgery to remove non-food obstructions from intestines.

The sticky tape lasted last about a day when they figured out that the could hop over it and I couldn't realistically cover the entire kitchen counter in sticky tape. Plus that sticky stuff is a PITA to remove.

The Blender Defender sounds promising, if we can figure out the motion detector part of it.

We've long since decided that prior to preparing any food, we give the counters and stove a quick wipedown and use a lot of cutting boards as work surfaces. The butcher block stays covered when not in use. And as a last resort, a spray bottle of water is always on the counter for any offenders caught trespassing when we're there. But those little buggers know better than to try hopping on counters when we're around.

Aluminum foil doesn't work for all cats - I have the same problem as phd2bpolisci with my cat. He was peeing on the dog bed, so we lined it with aluminum foil. He made a point to pee on the aluminum foil while I was in the room - looking straight at me the whole time. I just wipe my countertops and stove down with cleaning wipes before starting to cook.

I've been thinking about buying a sheet of plastic (something thin) to place over the stove when it's not in use. Then, even if he got up there, I wouldn't be as worried about the hygiene issues.

@gabbyshell - I think our cats must be related! My cat loves to wait until you can watch him urinate on the floor!

I am resigned to the fact that my cat will jump on the counter. Now, I am in the habit of disinfecting my countertops before cooking, which I think most health departments would say is good practice.

The only good south facing window in our house is in the kitchen. I tried to keep our cat from going up there, but the appeal was too strong and he went through every barrier. Now I just wipe down the counter when I am about to cook. On a more positive note he does not seem to like jumping on the stove, which is on an different wall. I will take the small victories.

As a former vet nurse this disturbs me. First of all, what's getting your cat's feet so filthy? Cats are extremely clean animals and should be kept indoors anyway. Your first line of defense should be good structures for them to climb on so they feel safe and happy. Cats are climbers. And let them on the kitchen table, have you ever in your life heard of people getting sick from paw prints? Honestly. If it keeps them off the stove (not safe) then let them on the other surfaces.

how do you handle a cat who's a food scrounge from his outdoor days? our cat is constantly scrounging for food and is very determined to be where the food is when preparing his or anyone else's food on the counter.

spray bottles are a no-no with cats-- the constant spraying makes them neurotic.

@Emmi We do actually let our cats on the kitchen table (and wipe it before eating), but I don't feel safe with them on the stove! As noted in the post, our (indoor) cat's feet are not normally that filthy! A bunch of work was being done on our windows and until we saw the paw prints we didn't realize so much dirt that had come in!

I guess I am lucky that I have kitties that have never climbed on my counters/tables! My parents used to have mouse traps set (in the middle of the table or counter) with newspaper over them. When the cats jumped up on the counter the mouse traps would snap scaring the cats. Then one time our pet cockatiel jumped onto the mouse trap and broke her leg. Not such a great day for us. What I've learned is cats will do pretty much whatever they want so just take the good with the bad and sanitize your counter tops before and after cooking and put all food away!

I just gave up. I have cats so just like I know I can't wear black clothing confidently, I'll probably have a cat on the counter while/after I cook. As for the blender thing- I leave all my on-counter appliances unplugged now (I know I should have anyways) because years ago I came home one day to my cat having flipped on (had a toggle switch) my blender and both cats spent ALL DAY with it screaming at them blending til we got home. They were shaking under the bed terrified to go near the kitchen for days. It was awful for them :(

There is only one way effective way to keep cats of of kitchen counters and dining tables. Don't have cats!

@Emily our cats get into the oddest stuff sometimes, luckily our kitchen stove is too high for them. I wonder if leaving big pots on the stove would deter the, as the surface was no longer flat?

@Amandica can you feed them just before you eat? I recommend a book called Your Cat written by a vet, that diet might get them off craving carbs.

I purchased a device on Amazon.com that has a motion detector attached to canned air. I think the "My Cat From Hell" star recommended it on one episode; I learned about it from a friend. When the motion detector is set off, the device plays a tone and then shoots a puff of air. In theory, eventually you don't need to replace the air canisters because the cat either avoids the area or the tone is enough to make him/her leave. It worked fairly well at discouraging our curious cat from jumping on the counter, but it's not perfect. Also, we would sometimes forget to turn it off before we started using the counter or forget to turn it back on again after.

My cat is terrible at jumping so he can't get on the kitchen counters. He loves to climb up on the table though. I used to spray him but now I know that he knows he's not supposed to be up there, he just doesn't care. Ah cats! I think he won that battle. As long as it's not my counters I guess it's ok. We do eat on plates,after all.

I've said this before on the Kitchn and I'll say it again - cats will do as they please! And that's part of what makes them so lovable :)

@Emmi alas, that's not the case. Our cat Eero, the one who tracked the grime, is curious, determined and able bodied to go wherever she sets out to investigate. She's wonderfully stubborn that way.

She doesn't regularly venture up to the fridge and stove, and as Emily originally noted, there was an unusual amount of debris from workmen that probably piqued her interest. We ended up having a good laugh upon returning home to her guilty face and even more guilty paw prints :)

The only thing that I've found that works for all cats, is to keep a spray bottle filled with water nearby and when the kitty does the bad thing (jumping on the counter, pooping in your plant, eating your books...) spray the little guy in the head and watch him run. It'll take only a few times before they get the idea.

She sounds quintissentially cat, @Gregory. Agile too! ;)

I have two cats and a dog. They go where they like and I don't bother trying to stop them. (We've taught them that if I'm actively cooking, they can't get on the counters, though the dog is constantly underfoot looking for scraps. It's easy to reinforce this; anytime the cat jumps up, immediately stop and put her on the ground outside the kitchen. They really do stop trying after a while if you are consistent. And dogs can usually be distracted for a few minutes with a treat or a favorite toy.) The counters & stove get wiped down with antibacterial cleaner before we cook anything, and we never leave food out or uncovered. It's probably good practice, anyway, even if you don't have pets. You never know what that stray fly might be carrying or if the ceiling fan is kicking up dust again.

"How do you prevent them from hanging out on kitchen surfaces?"

You don't. At least ff you are not present. Conceded that battle yrs ago after attempting every remedy under the sun. Resigned myself to a clean-cook-clean-again approach. It's the only thing that works. Cats have a mind of their own, and like kids, will test the boundaries when you're looking the other way even if they 'know' better.

The ONLY thing that [partially] worked was a water bottle (water/vinegar solution). A jet stream in the face was not necessary; a spray/mist was sufficient (zero feline neurosis here). Note that I made a point of *shaking* the bottle before spraying so the cats associate the *noise* with the spray. Behavior modification, pure & simple. After a week of consistency w/my squirts, I had only to shake the water bottle & they would flee. I no longer have a water bottle....I just grab the closest liquid & shake...the sound sends them fleeing. Yup, it's a compromise. But as others noted above, the only effective way to keep cats off counters, etc is don't have cats. Not a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Oh, & btw, also tried leaving pots on the stove as a deterrent. My cats just curled up in/on them & took a nap. Yeah You'd think the handle on a stock pot lid would be uncomfortable. Not so.

First, clicker training, clicker training, clicker training! If you reinforce kitty getting up onto a barstool on command, instead of on the counters (which they are unceremoniously removed from), then the undesired behavior will naturally reduce, eventually to be extinguished. I had a hard time believing it would work, but my mischievous young cat responded to this process within days. I found Naughty No More by Marilyn Krieger to be very helpful!

I also second @MissDewey - it's a myth that cats can't be taught. I had used the technique Miss Dewey described and it worked great with my last cat - absolute consistency and a loud "No!" every time she did it, plus removing her from the counter and then ignoring her, was enough to teach her not to. After she got the message, she probably only jumped up on the counter another 15 times in the course of her entire life, mostly during periods of upheaval (partner breakup, moving). Since Em got the message, she's also not jumping on the counter - but the dining table is still an occasional battle.

Just gotta add here....funny story...

Got a tv in the kitchen; listen to the news as I cook dinner. Got one cat who is attracted to the remote for some strange reason. If I forget to put it away when I'm cleaning up, I'm blasted to *full alert* mode in the wee ;hours by the tv at a decibel that breaks the sound barrier. And sometimes, the channel has been changed as well. Ya know, there's some disgusting stuff on tv in the middle of the night....

The only thing that REALLY works at keeping your cat away is the motion-sensor compressed air canister. Seriously. Don't stress yourself out with foil/tape/etc. and just buy the "SSSCAT." All you do is put in batteries, turn it on, and set it according to directions and the "no-no" areas. The cats will test it out, get "sprayed" (harmless air but scares the shit out of them), and will know not to go near the canister again. Obviously you will get sprayed if you're walking in its sensor zone, but it seems like in your case you can just leave it out when no one's home.

We put ours out at night on the kitchen floor because our boy likes to open the cupboards below the sink and "explore." It is such a stress reliever... I don't have to worry about him digging through the trash, accidentally knocking over things, or worst case scenario-- eating something bad.

But really.... your cats are home far more than you guys are.... they should be allowed free reign of the house if you want them to be truly happy and confident in the space. Wipe down the counter tops be tidy but really, they don't bring in half the stuff that you track in with your shoes after using a public restroom.

@Discerning I agree with you about being resigned to cat behavior, 100 % correct. But vinegar? Why would you have used that to begin with? Even anywhere near their eyes is harmful.

@ Emmi: They dislike the smell. I started with water which was ineffective. Note that in my post I mentioned I spray a fine mist, not a jetstream aimed at the cat. Even then, it was not aimed *at* them but in the air over them. No neurosis & no danger to their eyes. In any event, it's no longer an issue. As I also mentioned in my post, spraying is no longer necessary. If they jump on the counter, I simply grab the nearest liquid container & shake. They respond to the SOUND. Behavior modification works, even for cats who admittedly have minds of their own:).

Sound is pretty effective. For some reason one of our cats hates the sound of our keys even though he doesn't mind trips to the vet.

Am I then only person who's never had a problem with this? I've had six cats over my 26 years of life and they never went on the counters past the first few weeks of living within the home. It's easier to make good habits with cats than to break bad ones.

If you can find a way to keep cats from doing anything they intend on doing, then you are up for a Nobel prize.

@Modestal Mond

I think you might be the only person who isn't aware that they have a problem with this. ;)

I'm guessing your cats prowled on the counters when you weren't there, or were asleep. That's always been my experience.

I keep a water gun (filled with just plain water) in our fruit bowl. If our troublemaker kitty jumps up on the counter, I pick up and gun and he gets down before I have to squirt him now. Or he climbs higher. His hangout spot is the top of our cabinets. That doesn't bother me though.

Oddly, our other cat has zero interest in the kitchen counters.

Growing up, we had an outdoor cat. We kept his food away from the dogs on one of our kitchen counters that we didn't usually use for food prep, so he was always sitting on the counter. It never bothered me, and I think it is pretty funny that people will cuddle their cats and let them in their bed etc., but freak out at them being in the kitchen. Assuming your immune system is healthy enough to stay in contact with the animal and have it in your home to start with, them being on your counters isn't going to make you sick. Trigger your neuroses? Yes, apparently very much so, given how many comments there are here about how gross it is. I guess I just probably wouldn't get an animal if I thought it was that gross.

Cats are allowed in your kitchens? Ugh! Remind me not to eat at your house. :-/ I don't believe any animals are allowed in the house but especially not the kitchen!

Cats are barn animals, IMO.

Sorry to say, but nope. Cardboard with double-sided tape works miracles. Cats HATE sticky. After a few attempts, they'll associate the area with sticky and unpleasantness and give it a wide berth.

My Anthony knows he isn't supposed to be on the counters, or the table, or the coffee table, so he stays off them when I'm home. I've decided that's good enough for me. We just pretend he doesn't get on these surfaces whilst I'm away.

How exactly does this work? They don't like the scent and it repells them or it gets onto their paws and they don't like the taste? Thanks!