I won't eat anything until one of my cats has checked it out and given me
it's "OK". - I never have to worry about being poisoned.......An occasional
tail dragged through the soup is a small price to pay for this excellent
service......

"steve84" <steve@steve.com> wrote in message

I use a spray bottle with the spray set to stream, but it only works for a
little while. If I spray my
Deetoo, she chirps her displeasure and runs off, but returns a minute later
and then turns it into a game where she tries to sneak up on me without
getting sprayed. When she's watching me with the spray bottle, she's fast
enough to run off and not get wet when she sees the stream of water in the
air flying towards her.

When I need a deterrent for undesirable behavior of any kind, I use an
old hair-spray bottle (must be very thoroughly washed before filling it
with water.)  My cats very quickly learned to immediately stop whatever
it is they're doing and retreat a few feet at the sight of the bottle in
my hand.  Of course I feel mean, but a puff of mist in the face doesn't
hurt--just startles them.

As Upscale said, it's likely to be a temporary solution, in that your
cats probably won't stay off the table unless they think they're at risk
for being squirted.  They will learn not to jump up while you're sitting
there with the spray bottle visible, at least.  And there's a good
chance they will eventually learn to stay away altogether during your
meals, providing you never ever feed them from the table or allow them
to eat from the table.  They normally will decide that you are
territorial when it comes to eating, and will respect that, being
territorial animals themselves.  

There are some behaviors that come so naturally to a cat--and jumping up
on higher surfaces is one of them--that they will humor you about, but
will rarely quit doing in your absence, merely because they don't "get"
why anybody in their right mind would have a problem with such a
perfectly normal activity!

Good luck!

Diana

Hi!

Nor should you. Those items are useless in dealing with recalcitrant
cats. I use my .22 air-rifle. Works like a charm.

Well, in combination with the above-mentioned method, I also lay some
live electric wires on the table. That makes 'em jump off damn quick!
That is, if they've survived the .22 pellets. Hope this helps.