Cat Training

[Sapphire Silk]

I was reading about the Bitter Apple in the licking the couch thread, and was wondering does anyone know an equivilent for cats?

I'm having a hard time keeping Taz off the furniture. She understands "Off the table" (my phrase for keeping her off things), but as soon as I'm not looking she's on things again.

I have some fragile things and I'm scared she's going to knock something over. I never had this problem with my other cats and I can't seem to get her to stay off the furniture.

Anyone have suggestions?

[AriGriffin]

Have you tried getting a mat with rounded tip rubber spikes on it and putting that down spike-side up?

[MaggieTheCat]

Bitter apple spray works for cats, too. We used it on our Christmas tree last year, worked like a charm. Our kitten Pluto was nomming on the branches of the tree before we even had it assembled, a few squirts of the bitter apple spray made him give us a cat butt face (which is hilarious when a cat actually does it) and sulk away.

If you have a bookshelf or something that has stuff like figurines on it that you don't want the cat jumping on, try putting double-sided tape on any surface he might jump or walk on. They don't like the sticky feeling on their paws.

[Kittish]

There are also those zap mat things, that give a small but uncomfortable static shock when anything steps on them. Googling shock mats for pets pulls up dozens if not hundreds of them, they seem to range from about $20 to $50 each. Some friends of mine use them to keep their cats off counters and such.

[Seshat]

Because you want her off these surfaces when you're not around, you're going to have to make those surfaces undesirable.

Bitter or other unpleasant tastes (she grooms her pawpads, after all)
Uncomfortable surfaces (sticky, spikey, wet, mild electric shock)
Startling unpleasantnesses (set up a trap so that when she jumps up, she knocks over a coffee can full of pennies and makes a horrible noise, or some such).

[Geek King]

One oddball thing that works for a lot of cats who jump on surfaces: Orange rinds. Aparently, most cats really dislike citrus smells, so putting some orange peels around the edge of where you don't want them works. My folks did that for their cat, and it seems to work. Once the cat learns, you can stop leaving the peels out, repeating when the lesson seems to wear off.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

hmmm... and citrus has beneficial aromatherapy attributes as well!
... although it will look as if you keep a poor house. Wait. you could maybe make them into cute decorative shapes! :3 /looks at must-have-cute too much

[Frantic Freddie]

Garden hose with the brass fire hose attachment,blasts 'em right off things like the sofa or sinks....

[Sakka]

For cat training, my parents have used Ssscat Cat to keep the cats from attacking the screen door. The first time it went off, girl cat went looking for someone to beat up.
Boy cat went flat, then noticed that nothing moved or attacked him. He kept moving closer to it, freezing when he set it off each time, until he was snuggled up against it.


Now, he has figured out that if he sets it off, a human will come investigate. A human who will open the big door and let him out. Not sure who has trained who there.