Cats and Aluminum Foil: Will It Keep Your Kitties Off the Counters?

Do Cats Hate Aluminum Foil?

As per Hall, cats do not dislike foil, and in fact, her own cats found it enjoyable when she placed it under her Christmas tree on one occasion.

Even though cats may be initially surprised by foil, they often jump onto counters again despite the foil's shininess and sound. This is why videos of cats jumping onto counters and then quickly jumping back exist, as they are temporarily taken aback by the foil.

"What are you gonna do, keep foil on the counter forever?" she adds. "Sooner or later that is just routine for them."

She asks what you plan to do, leave foil on the counter forever? Eventually, the cats will get used to it. While there may be cats that dislike foil, there are alternative methods for keeping them off the counters, if that is your goal.

Keeping Your Cats Off the Counter Without Foil

Initially, Hall suggests taking a moment for self-reflection. Is it really necessary for you to triumph in this conflict? Is it imperative to prevent your feline companions from accessing the counter? Cats are fond of elevated areas, which include the counter, as it allows them to observe their surroundings.

If you make sure to store all the food and utensils securely, it's not a big deal if your cat climbs onto the kitchen countertops. According to Hall, cats tend to gravitate towards high places where they feel secure and can observe their surroundings. However, it may be necessary to keep your cat away while you're cooking or working in the kitchen.

However, it may still be necessary to prevent your cat from approaching or interrupting you while cooking or working in the kitchen. Fortunately, there are alternative ways to do this without using foil.

Find Alternatives

According to Hall and Reimers, one solution is to offer your cat more places to sit and observe from a distance.To provide your cats with a more engaging place to relax than the counter, consider adding a cat tree or window perch to your living space. You could even place a toy containing catnip in those locations to make them even more enticing.

Keep It Clean

The flip side of installing alternative high places is making your countertops less enticing. First, that means putting the food away and keeping the counters clean as much as you can.

As a matter of fact, cats that are food-motivated are less likely to jump up when they find nothing interesting up there. If that means storing food in the microwave, as Reimers does, then so be it.

Make the counters even more unattractive

If you don't want your cat on the counters, Hall and Reimers suggest using a "scat mat" (like this). The plastic spikes are difficult for cats to step on without hurting them.

If you put citrus and eucalyptus scents on your counters, cats will stay on the floor. Of course, some cats are exceptions and might not mind the smell, Hall and Reimers say. Does it matter if your kitchen smells citrusy all the time?

Disassociate Food From the Counter

Whether we admit it or not, we often give our cats scraps from the counter when we're cooking or cleaning. If you give your cat something from the counter, they'll associate it with a tasty treat.

Give them table scraps that are non-toxic for cats away from the counter. Hopefully they'll learn the counter isn't for them.

As you cook, you should also keep them off the counters. Hall says you can accomplish this by picking them up and placing them back on the floor.    

Word Association

Hall says you should choose a different word for when you want your cat to get off the counter-it can even be a clap of the hands. Just specify when you want your cat to descend the counter.

The cue can also be paired with clicker training, rewarding your cat for returning to the floor each time. (For example, if you teach him "come").

Reimers recommends crumpling foil into a ball for the cats to play with if you still want to use foil on the counter.