I have always been a person with a cluttered home. Especially my DR table. We rarely ate there, because it was too full of mail, other papers, etc.

However, the past few months, I have turned over a new leaf. Prior to my daughter's wedding in May, she helped me organize it and clean it up, so it would be nice for guests. I have been able to keep it uncluttered, and, I hire a housekeeper to clean it. I've done that for awhile, due to stamina issues related to my MS, but it used to be a college student who often had to clean around the clutter.

My question is about my cat. Now that the DR is free of clutter, I awake every morning to find him relaxing on the table, next to one of the DR windows. I've tried leaving the blinds closed, hoping that he would be less attracted to that spot with less sun coming in. But, that doesn't deter him.

I've tried spritzing him with water from a squirt bottle every time I see him there. He's learned to jump down and run away quickly, every time he sees me going for the bottle. But, it doesn 't keep him off of there in the first place.

I've tried moving his kitty condo in the LR in front of the window in that room. But, he never sits there. He uses it only for scratching.

Any other ideas?

~ Faith

My cats like to jump up on the dining room table, too. Whenever I see them there I always take them off but I know they get up there when I'm not watching....or at night when I'm sleeping....or just whenever the mood hits them. It doesn't bother me. We never eat there. I just let them do it because they seem to enjoy it......and I've never had any luck trying to get a cat to do what I wanted them to do. If you could figure out how to make them think it's their idea then you'd be a genius! I'm just happy my cats allow me to live here with them.

Double-sided tape

For small cats, lightweight tape will do, the craft type you can find in school supply sections of some groceries.

For larger cats, use the heavy duty stuff you can get at places like Target or K-Mart.

Cover the surface really well, cross-hatching where the cat usually sleeps or settles down. Leave the tape for a while; the smarter your cat, the longer you'll want to leave the tape.

The black cat was always up on the kitchen Island. Then died after a car hit him. Now the gray cat is always up there, only the black male had kept her off. Cats!

lol -- You're more generous than I am. We adopted our cat, as a stray, 9 years ago. I was thoroughly in favor of it then, because I believed it would be good for our kids to have a pet. And, it was. But, our daughter is now married and living 900 miles away. Our 20 y.o. son has recently moved back home. It is mostly my husband who cares for (and nurtures) the cat. He sits on my lap sometimes, but, the cat tends to be his "baby", not mine.

And, it is me who "allows" him to live here. I wish that he knew that, though. Sigh! I'm sure that he believes, as you allow your cat to believe, that it is the other way around.

We do eat on my DR table, now that it is cleared off. So, I always have to be sure that I clean it thoroughly, prior to setting it.

~ Faith

Thanks, Jude. What happens to their fur when they lie on the double-sided tape? Does it pull off, and, is it painful?

~ Faith

It's the same as the tape would be against your arm. Annoying, yes. Not painful. Pulls off any loose hairs. You can also put it up anywhere clawed cats tread. It's just a discouragement.

I don't use a table to eat any more because the wheelchair doesn't get along with tables very well and there just isn't room for one.

But back when I had a table and a cat, I let the cat jump up on the table as long as a meal wasn't in progress. I always mopped off the table before setting it anyway and used placemats or a tablecloth.

My son uses that two sided tape (got it at PetSmart) on the ledge in his loft. There is a l-o-n-g drop to the first floor and nothing to keep his cat from jumping up there. He was afraid she might fall off - and it's a long way to the floor. He put some of that two-sided tape on the ledge and she tried once to get up there but never again. Cats hate anything sticky on their feet. Or anywhere else on their body.

One of the other things is you can put aluminum foil over the table kinda crumpled up. Cats don't like this and it will deter them from jumping up on it. I have two new brothers that have decided to go where ever they want. I tell them no but its just a temporary fix. They let me believe I won but they are just fooling me. At just over a year old they have no intention of minding me.