What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

DH's cat Lucy passed away last month and now he is looking into adopting a baby kitten. Lucy was already an old cat when he got her and she was 18 years old when she passed away. She was so good and never jumped on anything cuz she was old and didn't have the energy she used to have.

Now with a new young kitten things will be different and it will be full of energy once it gets bigger. What I can do to keep them from jumping on things besides spraying them with water.

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

what we used was a spray bottle of water and sprayed our cats every time they scratched the furniture...that worked...but they still nap on the furniture.

eta oh i just saw you wrote "besides spraying with water " i dont know. thats the only thing that worked for us.

Message edited 9/16/2005 5:10:31 PM.

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

Posted by MrsTC

what we used was a spray bottle of water and sprayed our cats every time they scratched the furniture...that worked...but they still nap on the furniture.

eta oh i just saw you wrote "besides spraying with water " i dont know. thats the only thing that worked for us.

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

Posted by Aga

Posted by MrsTC

what we used was a spray bottle of water and sprayed our cats every time they scratched the furniture...that worked...but they still nap on the furniture.

eta oh i just saw you wrote "besides spraying with water " i dont know. thats the only thing that worked for us.

this was also the only thing that worked on our cat...

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

Why won't you let her jump on furniture? Cats naturally have an instinct to be high, observe large cats i.e. cougar, tiger, lion, panter.
A good idea is a "kitty condo" which is a piece of furniture specially made for cats to play on and climb.
You can also try sprays found in pet stores that deter cats by using a smell they dislike.
As an indoor cat owner, I encourage you to welcome them as a child in your home and allow them to jump on your furniture, it is harmless as long as you are not cooking or eating off the surface and they have enough scratching posts for the size of your home.

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

Unfortunately when you spray them when they jump on a table or something, that only teaches them to not jump when you are around.

The books say to try not to keep anything on the table or counter that might lure them there. They also say to fill empty soda cans with something and put them on the table. When the jump on the table they will knock them over and the noise will scare them. If this happens enough, they are supposed to associate jumping on the table with the loud scary noise and not jump.
I dunno but this is what my cat training books said.
Good luck

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

Thanks ladies...I don't want cats jumping on furniture especially when they shed and it gets on your clothes. It's embarrassing when company comes over and they get cat hair all over them...at least that's my opinion...

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

Also, rather than sleeping on the furniture, they will probably choose to sleep in a cat bed, wicker basket w/blanket inside, or if you buy one of those little seats for them to sleep in the window.
The soda can thing is a great idea, which I'm sure will work. Also, it may be less messy to try aluminum foil, they won't like the sound of walking/jumping on that.
If you adopt a short haired cat and brush her daily, you will be surprised by how little she sheds. I fully understand your want to keep a clean home and not suffer the embarrassment of cat hair on your/your guests clothing.
If I have any other ideas, I'll let you know! There may be something in this great book, How To Think Like a Cat.
Good luck!

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

It sounds like this cat has a great home with you. I just wanted to add that if you do spray them they should not know that YOU are spraying them. That is very important - it has to come from "nowhere". Cats (as you know) are sensitive and intelligent. They will be very sad and it will affect their relationship w/ you if they know you are spraying them.
I also never told you how sorry I am that you lost your beloved cat. We lost our "daughter" Lucretia, a russian blue mix in April and life has not been the same without her. Although Paquin and Peyton have blessed our lives, there was something super special about her.

Re: What can you do to keep a young kitten from jumping on furniture...

Yes someone told me the same thing, to never let them see you spray them. I also bought this spray where you spray the area you don't want them in and the smell is supposed to keep them away.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your cat as well. DH's cat Lucy, that passed away was 18 years old. For a cat she lived a long life. I am not a pet person but I must say, I have never seen a more angelic cat than this one! she was a saint!!! The beginning was hard when DH and I first moved in our apt. after our wedding two years ago. We all had to adjust to so many things and so did Lucy. But she adjusted and she was great! Never jumped on anything! Oh she tried but then it's like she didn't bother anymore. then again old age i'm sure played a part. However we did buy her her own bed which she slept in. At DH"s old apt. she slept on the bed with him and the couch, but the rules where changed in our new home where she was not allowed in the bedroom. She cried and cried and DH felt bad and would get up and hang out with her then DH tried ignoring her one night and she just gave up...LOL

She was good with kids too. My godson, when he was 1 1/2 years old, would pull her tail and leg and she never raised a paw. Now things are different with this new cat and we don't know how it will react to kids pulling it's tail. Lucy was old and laid back. This is a young cat only 3 months old. My girlfriend is supposed to come over on sunday with her sons, who are ages 3 and 1. I was thinking of rescheduling because we are getting the cat this week and wanted to give it more time to adjust before little kids come over.

I'll ask my friend and see how she feels...