Allowing your pets, cats in particular to jump onto your counter tops in the kitchen is not a good idea for hygiene reasons. They can also distract you when you are dealing with hot items or knives and that can increase the chances of an accident occurring.
An excellent, and amusing to watch, technique I have used to deter my cat from getting on the counters/tables is to place a cookie sheet filled with water on the edge of the counter/table and when the little darling jumps up they get a face full of water. That tends to freak them out and keeps them from repeating it.
