The Cat Behavior Answer Book - Arden Moore [39]
To keep your nimble felines off these places, you need to understand why they jump up there in the first place. Put yourself in your cat’s mindset. The counter is high. Cats love to survey the scene from a safe and elevated perch. And kitchen counters offer an added bonus: they smell good. Even after a good scrubbing, counters still smell like broiled chicken, tuna casserole, or grilled steaks to cruising cats who hope to find some bits of leftover food not captured by your cleanup sponge.
Counter surfing can be rechanneled to safer vertical places in your home. To do this, you must first make the dining room table and kitchen counters far less appealing. This requires that you “redecorate” these places temporarily to make them less attractive to your feline duo.
Start by placing double-sided tape on the edge of your counters and dining room table. Cats detest the feel of sticky tape on their paws. A good way to do this without having to pull up the tape when you want to cook or eat is to put double-sided tape on placemats and position them all over your counters.
In the middle of the counter, position a couple of cookie sheets (the kind with sides) filled with water. A cat who bypasses the sticky tape will land with a splash and scoot off. The tape and shallow pans cannot be seen from floor level, which adds a surprise element. A third tactic is to use cleaners on your counters that contain citrus, an aroma cats hate.
You can also go high tech, but bring out your checkbook. There are several motion detectors on the market designed to dissuade cats from leaping on counters. When the cat jumps on a counter, an alarm sounds and quick spurts of harmless air are released. That would be enough to startle me from trying to trespass where I didn’t belong!
It is equally important to offer a suitable place or two for your cats to dwell from on high. If they find a spot in a bookcase or even a mantelpiece that is acceptable to you, keep it clear for them. I recommend placing a sturdy cat tree or climbing tree in a high-traffic area of your house, such as the corner of the living room, where the cats can check out all the household activities from a lofty perch. Or place one of these trees next to a window for your cats to check out what’s happening in your neighborhood. Entice your cats to use these trees by sprinkling some catnip and leave treats for them to discover when you are gone. Reward them with special treats when you find them on these trees.
FELINE FACT
A cat can jump about seven times as high as he is tall.
Favorite Feline Tunes
Q My cat is extremely fearful and seems to panic at the least change in routine. I’ve read that certain music can help calm cats. Is that true? If so, what type of music works best?
A If you’re searching for a way to calm your feline, the answer may be harp therapy. It is well documented that music therapy can provide a welcome distraction or pleasure for people, especially those hospitalized with cancer or coping with terminal diseases. Music can minimize pain, decrease anxiety, and serve as a powerful distraction for patients. The same seems to hold true for our pets.
Sue Raimond, a concert violinist and composer, is considered the pioneer of harp enrichment and therapy for pets. An expert in the field of cytocymatics and vibroacoustics, she serves as an adjunct lecturer specializing in pain management at the University of California at San Diego. She has tested the effects of harp music on wolves, dogs, cats, goats, sheep, donkeys, and gorillas and authored several studies on her research.
Her harp therapy is drawing the interest of leading veterinarians and animal behaviorists who see music as a complementary tool in modifying undesirable behavior that might be caused by stress in family pets. Veterinary schools such as Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and UC-Davis in California, recommend her CDs for pets with separation anxiety.
Dr. Patrick Melese, a veterinarian and certified applied animal behaviorist in San Diego, recommends playing