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wildandblue · Jun 5, 2008, 09:56 AM

Can anyone suggest ways to keep a cat from jumping up on the dinner table? Some kind of behavior modification technique? Only one young 6 month old cat does this. The others behave themselves. We had spaghetti last night and he got up on the table 6 times. Finally he was "banished" to the outdoors during dinner but just sat at the window meowing and pressing his face to the glass watching that stringy spaghetti. It was like the Garfield cartoon where he hangs on the screen door by his toenails.:eek:

HistorianChick · Jun 5, 2008, 10:04 AM

Lol... cute... not the jumping, but the mental picture! :)

Get a spray bottle and fill it with regular water. Every time the cat jumps on the table, squirt him. This has worked in the past for my Mom when she had a similar problem... cats are stubborn...

Good luck!

morgaine300 · Jun 5, 2008, 10:52 PM

Some added comments. This is just what cats do. Most cats don't automatically behave themselves when it comes to getting into food or getting up on tables. I've had to train every cat I've had of these things. The squirt bottle works great, cause they don't like it, but it doesn't harm them in any way. A strong NO at the same time wouldn't hurt.

Some are more stubborn than others, so you have to be really consistent with the stubborn ones. And patience. It sometimes takes a while, and sometimes suddenly they just stop. And don't ever feed them from the table. Always in their bowl in a usual eating spot. If you have one that is getting up there right in front of you, you might have a stubborn one. Eventually he'll stop doing it in front of you, but do it when you're not around. It helps to have the squirt gun in hand and sneak into the dining room as quietly as possible and try to catch him. Get a kid's squirt gun that will squirt good from a distance.

pompano · Jun 6, 2008, 03:13 AM

Put a few pennies in an empty coke can,then duct tape the opening.When you see the cat shake the can and throw at the cat.It will run,and learn that this is a place that is off limits.I've heard cats dislike fabric softner sheets,and placing one on the spot he uses to access the table may work also.

wildandblue · Jun 19, 2008, 08:27 AM

Guys, he really doesn't seem to care if we make loud noises or squirt him. This is what I mean when I've said in other posts that animals today are autistic. I reread my original question and I thought, "well, just pull the curtains closed." Right now we just chuck him outside as soon as we start meal preparations, and we say things like, "did you put the cat out?" "I didn't know he was on fire." But he has actually pulled a little piece of insulation loose in the attic to get back in. He seems to be saying, "you don't understand. I WANT SPAGHETTI!"Arrrgh!

carolbcac · Jun 19, 2008, 09:44 PM

If he's that determined, this may not work, but I have another suggestion. It's sneaky, and designed to make him think the table is a horrible, terrible place to go.
Get some cardboard and/or cookie sheets, and set them on the table with the edges hanging off a little bit--the more of the table edges you can cover, the better. Stack a BUNCH on empty pop cans on the cookie sheets. Leave a little bowl of spaghetti in the very center of the table to lure him, and leave the room.
The idea is for him to jump up, hit the cookie sheets and send an avalanche of clattering metal down around him. You didn't do this to him--the table attacked him--you want to convince him that the table is an evil monster that will get him if he gets near it. You may have to do this for awhile, and may have to add additional sound effects like spoons or empty spice tins occasionally.
If he learns to leave the table alone, his reward could be a few bites of lean meat or pasta in his dish after the family meal is done.
(Let me know if this works)

morgaine300 · Jun 20, 2008, 01:03 AM

While the cookie sheet idea sounds a bit drastic, and perhaps even may seem mean, with really subborn cats, it can take something like this to solve it. (Though I do NOT suggest throwing cans at the cat. Let the cat get in trouble on its own without you doing it to him.)

I had another method I used to keep one stubborn cat out of the garbage and off the counters, but it has to be done just right or the cat can get hurt, so I'm not sure I even want to suggest it. But it was pretty drastic, and it too resulted in scaring the carp out of the cat and making these places seem very undesirable. And it worked even when I wasn't around.

I like the idea. With a stubborn cat, it does help to be extremely consistent, and also to make sure you reward for the correct behavior. And a good reward is just simple attention and a soft voice. Like when the cat is on the floor, and NOT on the table, give extra attention -- they hopefully then associate "allowed" places with a good reaction from you.

wildandblue · Jun 20, 2008, 08:01 AM

Well his older sibling (they're not really related, I just call him his brother because they are all our "kids") has this little trick he does where he stands next to a table leg and then sort of chins himself by holding on to the table leg and grabs a little bite of food from the corner of the table if you put it there. That's fun but this other one is more of a bull in a china shop thing. I'm going to try the cat booby trap. Carolbac you ought to work for Homeland Security! Protect everyone's spaghetti!

morgaine300 · Jun 20, 2008, 06:20 PM

little trick he does where he stands next to a table leg and then sort of chins himself by holding on to the table leg and grabs a little bite of food from the corner of the table if you put it there.

Despite that this may be "fun," this is merely encouraging the other cat to think getting on the table is OK.