jumping on furniture

Question
Dear Ms. Burg,
I have a five month old male tabby that I have adopted from the aspca which I adore. My husband however,is not as patient with this kittens habit of climbing on furniture. Our tables and desk. I have tried covering the furniture with aluminum foil, I have put lemon peels on top and the kitten continues to jump on the furniture. I have also purchased a repellent from petaland called OFF and nothing has worked so far.
Please help me. I'm sure my kitten does this for my attention, but I need him to understand that mommy can not play at all times.
Thank you, Jackie

Answer
Is it using it for a scratch post or simply jumping on it to get to you? It sounds like your husband simply does not want him jumping on anything. But to settle your nerves, I don't think he's doing it for attention, I think he's doing it because he just wants to and doesn't realize that that's not allowed.

Have you tried using a spray bottle? Or carrying him by the scruff and placing him elsewhere? What I think I would start with is a distraction method so show him there are other things that he can be doing instead of climbing the furniture. Each and every time you see him even thinking about jumping, grab a favorite noisy toy or even an empty pop can with some pennies taped inside, and toss it across the room completely opposite of where he is heading toward. This distracts him as well as gives him something else to do.

I am also all about the spray bottle. Some people are afraid that this will the make the cat turn against them, so if you can, do it so that he can't see you. I, however, don't let that phase me.

This could turn into a trial and error situation, so let me know how it goes.