How to Keep a Kitten Off of the Dinner Table

Curiosity and a natural desire to jump to high places will drive a kitten to leap up on the dinner table. Another reason the table is so attractive to a kitten is because it smells like food; a kitten may even find its jumping behavior gets rewarded with dinner scraps. Training your kitten to keep off the dinner table at an early age will save you the extra work of breaking your cat's bad habit years later.

Things You'll Need

  • Climbing cat tree
  • Catnip
  • Cat food or treats
  • Cat deterrent sticky tape
  • Cat training pulse mat
  • Aluminum foil
  • Lightweight cookie sheets or pans
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Instructions

    • 1

      Feed the kitten several small meals throughout the day. Some kittens will eat all of their food immediately after you serve it to them. Ravenous eating leaves them with no food for the rest of the day. Kittens who are hungry and have no access to food will seek it elsewhere, such as the dinner table. Break up the amount of food you give the kitten and feed it two to three times per day.

    • 2

      Purchase or make an appropriate cat climbing system. Kittens enjoy observing activity from tall heights; it's in their nature to climb and feel secure in higher places. Your kitten may simply enjoy climbing high up to the dinner table. Give it a cat tree or a system of boxes or shelves to climb in an appropriate area. Scatter catnip over the area to attract it there. Place a small amount of cat food or treats at the top of the area -- at least for a few days until the kitten prefers the climbing tree to the dinner table.

    • 3

      Clean the dinner table. Keep the table clean and free from leftover food at all times. Kittens can smell even crumbs. You do not want the kitten to find a reward when it jumps up to the table.

    • 4

      Cover the edge of the table with a cat deterrent. Sticky double-sided tape made to deter cats, electronic pulse mats for cat training and aluminum foil keep cats away from surfaces. You can also balance a few cookie sheets or long pans that aren't heavy on the edge of the table. Cats do not like loud noises. The crash of the pans when the kitten jumps will keep it away from the area.