How can I get my cat out of my dinner table?

Question

It's just so annoying. My 7 months old male cat likes to jump onto our dining table. We can't leave any food on the table out of our sight for a minute. He sits on the table and looks at us eventhough the table is clean.

Answer 1

Everytime you see him on the table, clap your hands and say "NO" very loudly and firmly.
Or get a can and fill it with pennies, shake that while saying no instead of clapping your hands.

My Vet told me that's the best way to break a cat of a bad behavior.

Good luck!

Answer 2

7 months old is still fairly young for a cat. He's still learning what he can get away with.
Push him off the table (or lift him up and set him on the floor) and ignore him. Praise him when he leaves you alone during dinner. Pay attention to him outside of the dining room. Positive reinforcement is the way to go with training animals.

Answer 3

Unforetunately, he's at the age of defiance like a teenager. Never hit your cat to get him down. One way my husband and I found to train our cats to stay off of the table is to use a spray bottle with water and just a pinch of vinegar as they hate the smell of vinegar. Only use a pinch of vinegar though as your cat has to lick it off and you don't want to make him sick. Don't comfort your cat when he comes to you for attention afterwards. Reinforce that you mean what you say and did with the words bad boy!

The other very effective thing we do is a deep growl. Don't do this often, but walk near your cat with the deepest growl you can muster up. It is natural for them to want to get away from that as they don't have a clue if they might become dinner. My husband is much better at this than I am and our cats will actually run and hide when they hear this sound. They can be in a completely different room, but if they're doing something they know they're not supposed to do, they actually cower to the sound and stop doing it. Completely ignore your cat so that he understands that what he was doing was wrong.

As to always keeping your cat off the table, you can curb his interest with lots of other places where he can climb. Create special areas for him to jump up on near windows - even stacked plastic storage tubs will work as long as they're not able tip and fall on your cat.

But bottom line, cats will be cats and some just can't resist the table when you turn your back. I think it becomes a game of seeing if they can get the forbidden fruit or in this case, on top of the table since he knows that you don't want him there.

Be patient with him and he will eventually figure out that good boys get lots of attention but bad boys get growled at or squirted and ignored. It is very important to reinforce good behavior with lots and lots of what a good boy you are when he's where he should be, or using the scratcher, etc. Positive reinforcement will become what he will strive for in the end. It has always worked with my cats my whole life - which isn't young. Your cat will want to do what pleases you to get the good attention, so love and pampering unlimited for life is the cure!

Answer 4

My cat has never done that. If it did, I'd slap it and it'd never do it again.

Put the cat outside or in another room if you live in an apartment. They say one way you can train a cat not to do something is with a water gun.

Answer 5

I've had cats all my life and found that a squirt gun is the greatest training device for cats. Eventually, even the motion of reaching for the gun will deter your cat from bad behavior.

Answer 6

I absolutely agree with the answer from David.... you have to squirt the cat with water - SCARE it - it's aversion therapy and very effective. Don't think of it as cruelty because it doesn't hurt the cat... just think of it as training, and consider that it will be happier if you are happier with it's behavior.

Answer 7

squirt gun is a great training tool all the way around for cats it will get to the point you don't even have to squirt it. Or one thing i did I put duct tape sticky side up when the neighbors cat took up housekeeping on my porch once walks on it they will know not to go on it again

Answer 8

get a spray bottle and spray it w/ water every time he goes on the table. my cat always used to bother fish in the fishtank and try to get them and i got a spray bottle and did the same thing good luck!

Answer 9

you can try something like a water spray and when ever he jumps up spray his face or making a loud noise to startle him, this may seem to work but you'll probably find it just makes him more sneaky, and he'll at least wait till your not there.

Answer 10

simply push it off the cat walks through its fecies and the last thing you want is there fieces on your table