If you read my last blog post, you have already been introduced to our new foster cat Vernon. As you know, we picked him up from our local shelter, at the shelter he was quiet and affectionate, really liked the counter kitchen over there.
In addition to being quiet and affectionate, and the people at the shelter thought he might be around 3-5 years old, which would be purrfect since our girl Topsy is 6. Well after being with us for over a week, he acts more like a kitten, and is very vocal.
Judging by his behavior, we think he is around 2, maybe even younger. He likes to play a lot, and toys that haven't been touched for years are getting plenty of use now. He loves being around us, which is great, until we happen to be doing stuff in the kitchen.
At the shelter we thought him being on the counter was so cute, however he is always on the kitchen counter here, when we are in the kitchen trying to do things. My solution is to put him in his foster room.
The foster room: My fiance fosters cats more so, kittens and sometimes there mothers. Last year she fostered two litters of kittens, this year it has been tough with family issues and a wedding to plan.
With the lost of our Philly a few months ago, she saw an opportunity with Vernon. We weren't certain if we were ready to adopt, and since Vernon has some dental work next month, he could only be taken as a foster for now.
So we took him in as such, setting up the foster room for him. For the first few days, he spent most of his time in there. As more days went by, he was let out more, and now spends the majority of his time out.
In fact, I am only using the foster room as a way to keep him out of the kitchen, when we are in there. It's a temporary solution, especially if we decide to adopt him, and get back to fostering kittens.
My fiance tried a little bit of tin foil to discourage him, but we probably would need to foil our entire counter for that to work. Don't get me wrong he doesn't like stepping on it, but at this point he just goes around it.
We think he likes the counter, because of three reasons. One he knows that's where his food comes from. 2 he likes to drink from the faucet, even though, he hasn't used the kitchen faucet as of yet, we have let him drink from the bathroom sink. Finally like I said he loves being around us, and him being on the counter makes him closer to us.
We have tried redirecting him with a toy. Sometimes it worked, but other times, he just went back to the counter. We have yet to try spraying the counter with a scent, that would hopefully keep him off.
As I write this blog post, I have been googling ways to keep cats off counters. I found this a spray that we might give it a try, what else do we have to lose. If any of you are dealing with the same problem or have in the past. I would love to hear, what you have done to fix it?
