Pet Lovers

[NickNack]

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@candys mine wrote:

Cover the Whole placematS with tape.  On both sides of the oven and, if you can, on Top of it when it's off. Give a cat an inch and they'll take a mile.  They're clever little things.  I 've always thought Henry has an intellegent gaze.

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@candys mine  Yes, I'm going to have to do that.  I've got two rows of packing tape on the placemats now, and he's still jumping up there.  I've got them over the entire counter.  It makes it really hard for me to do anything in the kitchen.

[candys mine]

Another thought in that same vein but a tad more incomfortable would be to get some rolls of that plastic rug runner protector.  the kind that has the nubbins on the back to stabilize it on the carpet.  roll it out on your counter with the nubby side up.  Henry won't like walking on the nubbins and you can roll it up when you need to use the counter.

[NickNack]

@candys mine  The tape may end up working.  He jumped up again today and didn't like the tape and jumped right down.  I'll wait and see.  In the meantime when I'm using the toaster oven or the stove I think I'll put him in my bedroom.  

I really don't cook that much.  In general, I don't want him on the counter though, not just because he could get burned.  It's obviously not sanitary.  The carpet runner protector isn't a bad idea.  I'll look at them if this doesn't work.

[NickNack]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

Somehow when animals get close enough to sense the heat from a hot object, they back away from it.  There are some devices you can buy which scare the animal when it gets near a forbidden zone.

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@Kachina624  I'm going to order the ScatMat training strip to put on the counter side that has the Breville oven.  It's exactly the right length for that side of the counter.  It's too long for the other sides, and there isn't another one that I could really order for the rest of the counter.  The strip is what they suggest for counters.  I will just have to put him up when I have the stove and possibly even the big oven on.    

I guess I'll leave the place mats with the tape on them on the rest of the counter for a while.  Henry did jump up on the counter just now even with landing on the tape.  I was standing right there and put him down.  I don't know if he would have gotten down immediately because of the tape or not.  The tape is extremely irritating to me when I'm trying to do something in the kitchen though.  I keep getting it stuck to me.  

Others have said that Henry is a tree dweller (per Jackson Galaxy), and I would have to agree.  I don't think this is something he's going to grow out of.

[noodleann]

I haven't tried this myself, but if I had this problem, I would. Wet down several dishtowels or terrycloth hand towels with plain water so they're soaking and lay them along the edge of the counter, everywhere Henry could jump. If he's like most cats, he hates wet paws and will jump down immediately. He's a smart cat and might learn from just one experience, although I'd lay them out several days in a row just in case. The only downside I can see is drying the counter and wiping up his wet paw prints.

Good luck.