Cat destroying kitchen

Question
Fiona, my cat, is getting to close to a year old. Lately she's learned to jump on the kitchen counter and go exploring and has developed a taste for human food. She's torn into bread bags, chip bags, almost any type of bag on the counter. She also has started taking the wet dish clothes and gnawing and tearing them to pieces. She's been going into the garbage so we got a closed lid garbage and she managed to dump it over to get inside. She gets fed with two other cats. We can't just leave them food at all times because otherwise they compete for it and will eat it all no matter how much we put in there.
My roommate's solution is to lock her up in a dog kennel whenever she catches her on the counter or after finding the mess and leaving her there for hours. I don't think this helps at all though. We tried some double sided tape on it and that didn't deter her and she only does it when no one's in the kitchen.
I've tried convincing my roommates just to not place bagged items on the counter but they seem as stubborn as the cat. As for the dish clothes I can't think of a good way to teach her not to go after them. Do you have any suggestion on teaching her to not go after these things?

Answer
Phillip,

As a growing cat she is probably hungry more often. Cats have different metabolisms so, like humans, they don't all eat the same amount. Leaving a big bowl of dry food available all the time is better than having feeding times. When it is always there, the cats tend to nibble when they are hungry instead of gobbling it when they get fed at certain times. At first they might pig out because they won't be used to having it available all the time. But when they realize it's not going to go anywhere and will still be there they will settle down and not eat it all at once.

It's important that you feed a good quality dry food, like Iams. If you use cheaper 'bargain brands' they have too many fillers in them and the cats get hungry again a lot faster. You may think they are getting a lot to eat, but in reality it's not much nourishment.

The cat should be checked for worms too, especially if she had/has fleas #where they get the worms from#. The worms eat what the cat eats so actually the cat isn't getting enough food, even if she eats a lot. Don't get over the counter wormer, because the worms are getting immune to the products. Get it from a vet that will give you the correct dosage for the cats weight, and the correct medicine for the type of worms the cat may have #there are numerous types#.

If the cat is hungry, then it's not a behavioral problem but a survival technique and punishing her is going to confuse her because she's just doing what comes instinctively.

Here are some suggestions:

Putting away temptations (like food on the counter) WILL help. Some cats are very determined.

Start "yelling" at her everytime she gets on the counter or table. Yell "NO! OFF THE COUNTER!" so your voice scares her off (a rolled up newspaper slapped down on the counter helps too). Then when she jumps down, wait a little bit then love on her to show her she is a good kitty. That way she won't be scared of you...except when she is on something she is not supposed to be on. She will catch on pretty quick, but will probably still test you periodically. Be consistent though. Don't let her get away with it once then yell at her the next time or it will never work. It may take awhile because bad habits are sometimes difficult to modify.

Wooden mousetraps are another device to give your cat the message about being where they should not be. Get a few of the kind that aren't prebaited and set them UPSIDE DOWN on the countertops with a sheet of newspaper or a brown paper grocery bag taped down over them (to double the safety factor). The traps are NOT meant to hurt your cat or trap a paw. Just to startle them. After they bump a trap, it jumps and closes with an noisy crack, helping to convince your cats that the area you've booby-trapped is scary and it's better to stay away from there.

Another option is to get a good squirt gun and stand where the cat can't see you. When she gets on the counter squirt her with the water gun, but stay hidden while you do it. That way the cat associates being on the counter with getting squirted and does not associate it with you.

You can also sprinkle or spray a citrus cleaner, or orange/lemon peels in a little water blended in the blender on the counters. Cats hate the smell of citrus.

I would try the free choice feeding though and see if that helps. Then work on the behavior issues.

Tabbi