How to teach a cat to stay

Teaching a cat to stay off counters, furniture and stoves can be challenging with an older cat. It's much easier to teach young kittens to stay off surfaces that you don't want them to jump onto or stretch out on. Read on to find simple solutions to keeping kitty from jumping up onto your nice, clean surfaces.

Things You'll Need

  • Squirt gun
  • Water
  • Pepper
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cats naturally want to sit at the very highest spot they can find, to survey such things as catnip plants, pests, cat toys, mice and unsuspecting people that are wiggling their toes. This arrangement is not necessarily what the cat owner wants. If this sounds like the position you're currently in, then a trip to the local dollar store to purchase a squirt gun should be on your agenda.

    • 2

      When your kitty decides he wants to climb all over your surfaces, immediately give him a little squirt from your squirt gun. Just one squirt should do it. There's no need to soak the poor little thing--you know how cats hate water!

    • 3

      After a few attempts at trying to stretch out on your surfaces and getting a few squirts in the process, and your cat still insists on jumping up, then it's time to say a very firm "No!" as you squirt the kitty.

    • 4

      If Step 3 still doesn't do the trick, sprinkle pepper over your surfaces. The pepper will make your kitty sneeze as he jumps on your surface and disturbs the pepper in the process! He will not want to lie down in a bunch of pepper that will offend his delicate nasal passages....