'I have to teach him now so it won't be worse when he grows up': New pawrent in tiny apartment battles 3-month-old kitten’s table-and-desk parkour, racing to set real boundaries before chaos grows

Author image for Sarah Brown
Sarah Brown • Writer and Editor
Sep 9, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

Brand-new pawrent vs. tiny tornado: Gibão, three months old, treats a small apartment like his personal purrkour gym. Almost everything is allowed. Bed leaps, couch climbs, chair scrambles… but two zones are sacred: the dinner table under the window and the desk of Very Important Things. That's exactly where he wants to be. One "inspection" turned precious biscuits into floor confetti; later, a 5 a.m. desk rave featured a decorative toy and a sentimental necklace as VIPs. Nothing broke, but the hooman's heart did a little wobble, and Gibão earned a brief time-out.

Here's the crunch: space is tight, the table doubles as pantry, and curiosity has four springs. Aluminum foil? Luxurious chaise. "Ssssst" and firm "DOWN"? Duly noted, selectively ignored. The hooman keeps scooping him off surfaces and wonders how to translate "strictly prohibited" into meow before this noodle-spined acrobat grows into a full-size gremlin.

The struggle is real and very cat. One hooman is desperate to protect food and keepsakes, one kitten believes every flat thing is his to explore. Love is big, patience is stretched, and boundaries are a work-in-purrgress complete with 5 a.m. meetings.

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  • 01
    'I need ways of teaching him those places are strictly prohibited'
    via Katya_Kani / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Good morning! First, I need to say: I'm completely new in having cats so I'm a little confused about what to do in this situation, but it's driving me crazy.
    via PedroBMaG
  • 03
    This fella (Gibão, 3 months old) is allowed to do basically everything here: climb my bed, the couch, play with my hands, bite me, climb my chair... anything he wants, but two things: climb my desk/dinner table and eat my food.
    via PedroBMaG
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    Cheezburger Image 10551773952
    via PedroBMaG
  • 05
    The latter is on the process | think, but the first is what I need advice for.
    via PedroBMaG
  • 06
    I live in a small apartment and I don't have that much. My dinner table is below my window and often has food and other stuff I don't have space for (so, the "remove the food from the table" unfortunately doesn't work for me) and this little guy sometimes
    via PedroBMaG
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    climb on it to try to get food, even if he already ate. Maybe he's just curious, but he knocked down some biscuits when I was out and sometimes that's all a guy like me have (he didn't even ate them).
    via PedroBMaG
  • 08
    And now there's my desk. He often sleeps with me in my bed and sometimes he wakes up early than me. That happened today, and ok no problem he was playing with something and I assumed it was one of his toys or junk he got (plastic bags, aluminum foil, plastic bottles, etc.). It was dark, but when I saw
    via PedroBMaG
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    7 U J B I - 9 9 O P L K L M AltGr . C + Que tal esta 240 IBM-A35257
    via Renata_Ladeira from Pixabay / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 10
    it better, he was playing with a toy I use as a decoration in my desk and also with a necklace that were there too. I was sad, he didn't destroy anything but those things are really important to me, and the only thing I really did was to lock him into the service area (it was like 5AM don't judge me).
    via PedroBMaG
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    What can I do to keep him out of those places? Specially when I'm not at home? Aluminum foil doesn't work and he just lays on it. If I'm working or in the same room I take him out immediately (I even do the "ssssss" thing, say "DOWN" loud and point to him when he tries to jump into the
    via PedroBMaG
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    dinner table). Maybe the adhesive tape could work, but I need ways of teaching him those places are strictly prohibited like, | I can't climb here this place is prohibited".
    via PedroBMaG
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    I feel that I have to teach him now so it won't be worse when he grows up, I'd love to get advice and appreciate your time.
    via PedroBMaG
  • 14
    Corvidae5Creation 5 Be as relentless as them. Every time they jump up, you pick them up and put them down.
    via Corvidae5Creation5

  • You may have to become a full-time cat remover: lift, redirect, repeat. It’s a phase and a workout. Scoop from desk to tree, praise the yes-zone, keep heirlooms on lockdown.

  • 15
    wwwhatisgoingon Cats don't really understand the concept of prohibited. places. Keeping him off while you're not home to gently lift him off can be impossible. I'd recommend a box with a lid for the food. Same for anything else you don't want him playing with.
    via wwwhatisgoingon
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    You can often redirect 90% of this climbing with a tall cat tree next to the desk or table. Reward him when he goes on it instead of the desk. Do you have a cat tree or shelf in front of the window the cat likes looking out of?
    via wwwhatisgoingon

  • Unfortunately, “don’t go here” doesn’t translate to Cat. They speak altitude. Add a cat tree as the yes-zone, reward every climb, and redirect from desk or table straight to their throne.

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    Cats learn from rewards, not from being told off. To avoid frustrating yourself and your cat, focus on finding an alternative for him and rewarding it. In small apartments you kind of have to accept your cat will be on everything. Don't lock him in the service area. That teaches absolutely nothing.
    via wwwhatisgoingon
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    Kit-on-a-Kat Double sided sticky tape on the tables. He won't like it and will learn not to go there. after a few times. But you'll have to let him figure out that he doesn't like it on his own.
    via Kit-on-a-Kat

  • Adhesive tape might be inconvenient, but worth a shot. If it breaks the jumping habit, it works. Test a small zone first and pair with a nearby yes-climb.

  • 19
    Alongside taking away the places you don't want him, you need to provide a more enticing alternative. Give him a high place to hide away in, where he can watch things happening.
    via Kit-on-a-Kat
  • 20
    retrocade81 We had some success with this kind of thing by using a strong citrus smelling surface cleaner on the sides in the kitchen, our little girl did not like that one bit! After realising it smells strong of an odour she didn't like on the sides she soon gave up jumping up on them.
    via retrocade81

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behavior pets kitten advice cat owners feline pawrents training Cats
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