Food Insecure Cat

Hi all,

First time cat owners here. We've had one year old Juni for just over a month. She's a generally very polite and non destructive girl, who is beginning to trust us fully and settle in nicely. She's been a stray up until now so she's very food insecure/obsessed. No amount of food is enough, and she sits by her automatic feeder all day and stares at it.

I'm following the advice of feeding her four small meals a day on a set routine, and we've seen an improvement in her food aggression but she remains pretty obsessed.

All in all, it's no big deal but our issue is that she will get on the counter to try and steal food, including on a lit stove, cutting boards, etc. We always catch her in time (so far) but my fiancé was cut quite badly due to Juni jumping onto a cutting board and sending a knife flying.

I've heard trying to keep a cat off the counter is pointless and you generally should just let them do their thing to save your sanity but I would like to limit any chance of accidents.

We try to redirect her to a bar stool next to the counter, where she's allowed to sit and watch but she'll always get back on the counter (or jump in the sink to lick the tiniest crumb from the bottom)

Has anyone had any success with the redirection method? If so, how did you do it? We have been able basic commands with treats, but sometimes I think I'm re-enforcing the behavior by giving her treats when she gets off the counter.

Or should I just put her in a cozy room while we cook and save us all the stress?

Thanks heaps!