Anonymous wrote:I got this advice here and it worked: place a cookie sheet hanging over the edge of the counter where the cats jump up. When they try to, the cookie sheet will fall and scare them. Spraying water just makes them afraid of you, the cookie sheet makes them afraid of the counter, which is what you want.
I think this is the right idea, although I'd be nervous the sheet would be heavy and land on your very young cats. The spraying really will not work, and your cats will end up seeing you as a source of discomfort, which you don't want. Cats aren't hierarchical animals, so they will not see you as the alpha person but as the not-nice person. For the counters, get cat tape, which is very wide double sided cat tape, and put it everywhere. It's no fun to have the cat tape on the counters, but it should only take about two weeks before your cats no longer want to be on the counters because it bothers their paws. Food really has to be put up in a non-cat-accessible place as much as possible.