Disciplining a cat has long been known as an exercise infutility. These proud creatures will happily ignore scoldings and other methodsto do just what they want. Kitchen counters are like magnets to cats. Cats lovehigh surfaces, and, as a bonus, the kitchen counter smells delicious. Yourcounter is often full of good things to eat, or at least, still smelling ofthem, and any self-respecting cat is required to investigate. It may seemimpossible to keep your pet from ?counter-surfing.? Before kitty drives you toyour wits? end, try a few simple tricks to discourage him. 

Cats hate the sticky feeling of tape, so try applying somesticky-side up to the edge of the counter. The sensation of stickiness on yourcat's paws may be enough to keep him off the counter. The disadvantage to thismethod is that you will have to keep applying the tape as long as you want torepel the cat, and cleaning the adhesive off your counter later can be a chore.Strips of aluminum foil are also suggested, as some cats hate not only the feelof it on their toes, but also the crackling noise. Be careful, though?some catsfind aluminum foil highly attractive and will pull it down for a toy. Make surethat your cat does not ingest any foil if this happens.

Another method of repelling your cat from the counter is toemploy a loud noise that will upset your cat when he has done something wrong.A few pennies in an empty aluminum can, shaken when the cat is on the counter,can make him learn that the counter is off limits. If you place a few of thesecans along the edge of the counter where the cat will be sure to knock them offwhen he jumps up, the resulting racket will bring down the cat.  Other loud noise methods include a popped balloon,or slapping noisemakers based on mousetraps. The traditional water spray methodcan also work, though it is important to make sure that the cat connects thediscomfort of being wet with the counter, and not with you.

It is also important to make sure that temptations thatentice your cat to jump on the counter are reduced. Keep good smelling food offof the counter top, make sure that there are other high places that your catcan sit, and make sure your cat has ample space to roam. These steps, combinedwith the above preventatives, can help keep your cat off of the counter.