Kitten on work top - hot hob!

DD265

We adopted two kittens at the weekend (love them to bits already). However one of them decided last night that he was getting on top of the work top. Unfortunately we'd been using the hob.

I appreciate that keeping them off the worktop/table is hard (our living space is open plan) and I can accept that they'll go on there if they want to and we'll just need to wipe down frequently, wash up after tea immediately etc. But I do not want our moggies burning themselves on a hot hob!

I've ordered some glass hob covers - thinking this should stop any burning of little paws. Until those arrive, we've barricaded the window sill end to make it harder for them to get up there, and I put my cast iron casserole dish on the hot plate we'd used.

Is it worth even trying to stop them, long term? If so is a water pistol the way forward? They're very good in every other way, learning not to play with teeth/claws on hands etc but no issues with them soiling outside the litter trays (barring the very first poo) or scratching where we don't want them to etc.

kerri_gt

Can you close the kitchen door when the hob is hot? I'm assuming if you've been cooking someone will be around if they need to access outside etc from there until the plates cool down?

The other thing is to keep reinforcing the message by simply lifting them off the worktop every time they get on it, put them down on the floor / in a diff room and don't make a fuss over them - that way they don't feel they are getting a reward for getting on the surfaces in the way of attention.

We used to have electric hobs and i always worried about one of our cats in particular walking on the hob if it was hot as she used the window as an entry / exit. She never did burn a paw or go close - I don't know if it was luck or whether its because they have better senses to such things but I'd try the above for sure.

rach_k

I think cats are quite sensible in general so I'd go with the same approach I used with my kids - don't stop them when you know the hob is hot enough to make them think, "Wow that's hot, I won't touch that again!" but not hot enough to actually hurt them. Hopefully they'll get the message and either avoid the hob completely or at least know to proceed with caution.

Our cat generally doesn't go on the worktop because I've always shooed her down so I'd do that too, but letting them associate the hob with 'hot' is a good back-up to that.

TBagpuss

make it harder, and/or scarier for them to jump up on the counters.
Loose tin foil on the front edge of the counter so that when they jump up they don't get a good grip, and it makes a noise.

You can also make a visual barrier so that it is harder to jump onto the counter - it makes the surface look higher, so they may be discourages from jumping up, and if they do, if you have things which will fall and make a noise then this is off putting to the cats and also attracts your attention!

For obvious reasons use stuff which isn't breakable and won't hurt the kittens if they pull it down on them - I found empty plastic bottles worked quite well - stand them right on the edge of the counter,which makes it look much higher so the jump up is more daunting. If they do make it up, then there's a strong possibility they will knock over at least one bottle which may scare them back down onto the floor.

tesuhoha

Do we get any photos?

Pollycat

Many years ago, one of my cats was a bu**er for jumping on the worktops.
We had a new kitchen installed with a ceramic hob.
Up he jumped and walked across the hob that had been turned off a while ago but still had some residual heat.
Talk about a cat on a hot ceramic hob!
He moved faster than light speed and ran to the end of the worktop where he used to put his front paws down the side of the cupboard and jump down,
But he didn't realise that the side of the cupboard didn't exist any more as we'd had a display bit put there instead.
So to add insult to injury, he over-balanced and fell in a very undignified heap on the kitchen floor.
He picked himself up, shrugged off our peals of laughter and went to lick his (figurative) wounds.

It cured him of ever going onto the worktop again.

Hope this doesn't sound too cruel.

I think the picking up and putting on the floor every time they get on the hob is something I would start doing right now.

Any pics of the kittens?

DD265

Thanks everybody.

We've currently got it barricaded (plate things aren't due until next week) and AFAIK they haven't been up there. They're still finding their feet with the big jumps.

Here they are:

fairy_lights

I tried putting tin foil on the counter tops to stop my kitten jumping up, but it didn't work - if anything it made it worse because he developed ninja-like agility and stealth to defy the evil foil. I tried lining empty plastic bottles round the counter tops too but he just found longer routes to reach his destination, jumping on to the bin lid, shimmying along a shelf and lowering himself down like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.
At 6 months he finally showing improvement, so it does get better in time.

paddypaws101

Try ssscat which puffs an annoying blast of air which is enough to deter most cats

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2141725.m570.l1313.TR2.TRC1.A0.H0.Xssscat.TRS0&_nkw=ssscat&_sacat=0

UKTigerlily

Sorry but this made me laugh, I have two kittens & the male has worked out how to do the very same thing! The female is more interested in pulling wallpaper off of the wall & stealing socks which she runs around with in her mouth!

Mine are extremely persistent & nothing puts them off! They follow me everytime I go to the bathroom & sit at the door, screaming if I close it. They climb on the top of the kitchen door & if I don't notice, almost get caught when I close it

I have no idea if they will make adulthood & they are very, very different from my 18 year old I lost in July but very loving too x

Puttytat

We worry about our cat doing this with the ceramic hob so we put the pans back on the hob filled with cold water. This then stops the cat accidentally stepping on a hot spot, as the pan is in the way. It also makes the pan easier to wash later on!

They're beautiful kittens by the way!