[CatherineofAragon]

"We have both, but I like the company of dogs better. Cats are just so damn aloof and anti-authoritarian. “You don’t want me to walk up here on the counter? I’ll do it anyway. Nah-nah-nanny-boo-boo.”

Not if you take the time to really train them from kittenhood. My last cat, a big tough tom, was so good. If he started giving the table or the countertops the eye, all I had to do was make eye contact with him and say firmly, but not loudly, "No." And he would cease and desist.

[mojitojoe]

Not if you take the time to really train them from kittenhood. My last cat, a big tough tom, was so good. If he started giving the table or the countertops the eye, all I had to do was make eye contact with him and say firmly, but not loudly, “No.” And he would cease and desist.
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I agree, that works with some, but not all, it depends on the cat. If you leave the house, they will all go where they aren’t allowed and if you leave food on the counter, if you leave or turn your back, they’re getting on that counter.

We used to have a Lilac point Siamese that was obsessed with corn on the cob. She just went crazy when she smelled it. If there was an ear left in the pan on the stove, and we didn’t get to it before the water cooled, she would get it out of the water, and take it under the bed to eat it.

[Thorliveshere]

My last cat, a big tough tom, was so good.

Then you were just very lucky.... A cat has never listened to me. Also, when you do tell them to get off, they will take the LONGEST POSSIBLE ROUTE on the counter itself to get off, but not just jump off from the point which you catch them. Ever notice that?