Can a kitten be trained not to go up stairs?

[EmpressoftheMundane]

We have a new kitten. She is now 9 weeks old and has been with us for a week. I’d like for her to have the run of the ground floor, but she keeps bounding up the stairs. We have some allergies in the family, so I would prefer to keep her out of the bedrooms and to stay down stairs on the hardwood floors.

I also worry about her getting bigger and jumping up onto the kitchen countertops. She is very curious and likes the high ground.

Is it possible to train her not to jump on kitchen counters and not to climb the stairs?

Cats aren't very trainable, no. They mostly just learn to keep on doing what they want when you're not around. I always remove mine from kitchen counters and the table but one of them will still keep trying and will sleep on the table at night.

Can you not just keep the bedroom doors shut? Mine don't really go on worktops but do like to go on the dining room table as its right at the window

You can use a spray bottle of water to deter her from no go areas. You could spritz her every time she tries the stairs (but good luck with that). It's easier with kitchen counters and tables.

I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to advise without a photo

You can definitely train them not to go upstairs/on beds/on work surfaces while you are there! They will learn really quickly you don't like that.

I very, very rarely see my cat doing something she isn't allowed to.

If you want to keep them out of bedrooms when you're not around, shut the doors.

My old cat knew not to go on the worktops in the kitchen, so stopped trying. She loved to sleep on a bed but I never let her in my room or the spare room (allergy reasons also) although she didn't comply because she was trained, I just kept doors shut.
My new kittens (6 mo) are having none of it. They dance on the worktops and the second my bedroom door is opened they are in there in seconds. There was a daddy long legs on the ceiling earlier and they went crazy leaping all over to try and get it. I clean the sides A LOT.

My cats never go on the kitchen table or worktops , except when they think I’m not looking, because if I come into the kitchen when they think I’m out, then I catch them on the table with a look of surprise on their naughty kitty faces. Then they normally shout at me for catching them out .

I don’t think you can train them not to go upstairs. The more you try to keep them out of somewhere, the more they want to go there.

When we got our cat when I was young my mum said she wasn't allowed upstairs. That lasted all of about an hour. And lol to shutting doors, she soon learned how to open them Im sure you'll get some more helpful replies op but ime cats do you the honour of allowing you to have them in your house, you really can't expect anything else from them

Hahahaha - no.

As PPs, basically no.

You can try and train your allergic humans to shut their doors. After checking there isn't a kitten inside, obviously. This is also prone to failure.

We had cats when I was a child - they didn't go upstairs or on kitchen surfaces or the table. I've no idea how this was achieved ... DM was a teacher so maybe a cat or two was well within her disciplinary powers.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but don't stand a chance.
You can train her to know that you don't like her going upstairs or jumping up on the worktops but that doesn't mean she won't do it the moment your back is turned.

Kitchen surfaces, yes. Stairs, no. Keeping bedroom doors shut is pretty much the best you can do.

Lol no.

😽

The cat is the boss, you work for her now. If she likes the bedrooms then she shall occupy them. If you are good, she might allow you in too.

Cats do what cats want 🤣

My mums cat and my cat never sat on furniture or went on work surfaces. My mums cat never went upstairs, my cat did, but that was because he could climb onto my porch roof and meow under my bedroom window to get let in.
My mums downstairs was quite cut off from the stairs so the cat never went up, whereas my stairs were open plan with the living room.
I hate seeing cats on work surfaces btw
Do you have photo of your kitty for us?

Cats do what they want.

A shut door is the only deterrent I think

With our Ernie DS always had his door shut but obviously as soon as it was open he was in there

He's not even tried with the kitten

A shut door isn't necessarily a deterant. If I shut the bathroom door to go to the toilet my cats will scratch and paw at the door until I open it.

Cats do what they want

I feel I should have paid more attention to The Litter Tray before I got my kittens. Last night they woke me up jumping on me and purring because I left a crack of the door open. This morning I removed one from the bath room sink. I don't even like to think of the kitchen party they have each night and where their paws go!!

You can absolutely train a cat not to jump on worktops. Unfortunately they have a tendency to learn they shouldn't do it when you are looking.

We have found the Cat ssscat brilliant for teaching them not to do it At All

www.amazon.co.uk/PetSafe-Deterrent-Effective-Avoidance-Training/dp/B075GMTYQS?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Going upstairs? Much harder. Plus they will just dig at carpets behind doors they want opened and ruin them. And they are so completely cute that most people will cave in after about 5 minutes.

Cats in a house with people who are allergic to cats is also not a good idea

We kept the doors to the bedrooms shut all the time.

They never went on work surfaces that we saw. We just gently pushed them off when they tried when little.

But cats and training , no not really.

Thank you for all the replies. At least I have my expectations set at a reasonable level!

Short answer no. My cats can open doors so keeping them out of anywhere is impossible