Why the table is such a strong habit to break
During meals the dining table offers your cat elevation, a clear view of every face, warmth from dishes, and the most concentrated food smells in the house — plus, in many homes, a history of scraps slipped to her by a soft-hearted diner. Asking her simply to stay away asks her to give all of that up for nothing, which is why eviction alone rarely works for more than the minutes you are watching.
A rewarding alternative succeeds because it does not fight those motivations; it redirects them. She still gets height, company, and food — she just gets them in one specific place that is not the table. The training is therefore mostly about building the value of the new spot until choosing it becomes her own idea at mealtimes.
Choose and position the alternative spot carefully
Pick something stable at roughly table height or a little lower — a cat tree, a bar stool with a cushion, a wide windowsill perch, or a small side table that becomes hers — and place it close enough to the dining table that she still feels part of the gathering, ideally within a couple of metres and with a clear sightline to the people she likes most. A spot exiled to another room will lose to the table almost every time, because company is half the reward.
Introduce the spot outside mealtimes first with treats and play, and add a familiar blanket so it smells like her resting places. A cat fed her own dinner when the family eats often settles more readily afterwards.
Run the first training meals on a reward rhythm
Before the family sits down, place her on or lure her to the spot and reward her, then continue rewarding at frequent intervals while the meal is served — every minute or so at first, using small treats she can eat without leaving the perch. As she settles into the routine over successive meals, stretch the gaps between rewards and vary them, so she is not simply watching your hand for the next delivery.
If she jumps on the table, lift her down without comment and place her back on her spot, rewarding her only after she has resettled there for a few seconds, so the reward attaches to the perch and not to the sequence of table-then-perch. Never feed her from your plate, even at the end of the meal, and clear plates promptly so the table never becomes a self-service buffet once people leave. Children and guests need the rule explained plainly: her food arrives on her perch, human food never arrives anywhere.
Build duration and handle the persistent tester
Most cats grasp the arrangement within a week or two of consistent meals, but many will test the table again when something especially fragrant is served. Treat tests as information, not defiance: raise the reward rate on the perch for that meal, perhaps with a long-lasting lickable treat fixed to a mat on her spot, which occupies her through the most tempting courses.
Sudden new food obsession or table behaviour alongside appetite changes is worth a veterinary conversation, but ordinary opportunism responds well to patience and rhythm.
Make the pre-meal setup a shared habit
The system works when her perch, blanket, and treats are in place before anyone sits down, not assembled while she is already circling the table. Agree who sets up her spot for weekday dinners and who does it when guests come, so the job never falls through. Through KinsLe Care Teams you can assign that pre-meal setup duty for your cat and see it completed, which keeps her rewarding alternative ready at every meal without a last-minute scramble.