We used to have to put one of our cats in time out every time we ate dinner. We got her as a stray from a shelter, and she had HORRIBLE manners about food. She would jump right onto the table and knock the fork out of your hand with her paw! And she was persistent about it, no amount of squirting with a water bottle, or throwing her on the floor, or shouting "NO!" at her would dissuade her. Finally we had to give up, and we started shutting her in the bathroom at the first sign of trouble. Once she was in there, we wouldn't let her out until we were done eating. Then, as a reward for good behavior, we started saving a little morsel for her if she behaved herself. Eventually she figured it out, and started behaving better. Now we only have to put her in "time out" once in a while.
I saw that someone mentioned laundry baskets above, my "naughty" cat LOVES laundry baskets! We used to call it "kitty jail" when we'd put a cat in there, but she'll tip it over and trap HERSELF in there. And she'll just curl up and lay there, happy as can be. Such odd creatures.
