Keeping pets in your home office can be a blessing. But if you've ever been in a room with a kitten and a laptop, you know that your pets think the keyboard is the most comfortable spot to lay. If you need to keep Fluffy or Fido away from your computer, try one of these home office solutions.
Most people have the luxury of shutting their pets out of the office when they need to hunker down and get work done. But us small-space dwellers with our door-less loft apartments and offices in our kitchens? Well, we need to get creative.
Here are a few creative products designed to keep your pet off your computer.
Ok, so the pets still stay on the desk, but with the Kitt-In box ($29.99, TheRefinedFeline.com), but at least they don't have to take up any precious desk top real estate. A clamp attaches this pet bed to the edge of your desk for pooch perching, or set it right on top if you've got some extra space.
If your big guy doesn't get on your desk, but still needs a space to lay while you're working, try re-creating this DIY desk project. Jamie Kovach shared this project at Design Sponge, turning a few planks of plywood and two IKEA desk legs into a multi-functional desk-slash-dog-crate.
If you just can't keep kitty from laying down on your laptop, try this crazy creative solution from the Sky Mall catalog: Catnix Workspace Partitions ($37.99, Skymall.com) work like fences to keep fluffy from setting foot near your machine. They also double as anti-glare and privacy blockers, if needed.
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If you've got a cat that likes to lounge on your desk when you're not working there you can train him to stay down with an Innotek SSSCAT:
http://www.amazon.com/Innotek-SSSCAT-Cat-Training-Aid/dp/B000RIA95G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311096930&sr=8-1
umm yeah you may love your pet.. but unless you like replacing technology.. it is not a good idea for pets to be in your 'home office' area..
not only would pet hair clog up your fans,etc.. they also tend to play with cords and wires.. and we are far from a wireless society..
even human hair can be found in keyboards.. and we don't tend to shed.. think about it..
not a good idea..
No. Down. No. Down. No. Down. No. It works for dogs, cats, and children.
@residentgeek Humans totally shed. ;) We lose 100ish strands of hair a day on average.
And that cat partition totally wouldn't work for my cat. The monster would just push them over.
@SunnyBlue: Unless you meant "No. Down. No. Down. No. Down [repeat until the heat-death of the universe]", you've never owned a cat, have you?
I detect a note of exasperation in your comment, PhilMills :) Yes, I did own a cat---a street cat, at that. He learned very quickly, and did yield to voice commands. Maybe he remembered what life was like on the mean streets, and liked having a food bowl that got filled every day. At any rate, when I told him No, or Down, he complied. (He was also a watcher cat, and would come tell me when something was wrong.)
My cat doesn't lay on my keyboard. He likes to lay right where I mouse (increases petting potential I guess) and sometimes he likes to lay ON my hand controlling the mouse. Saying things like "No. Down." would only get you a disdainful glance. And he does know his name and comes when called... (too smart for his own dang good).
I really don't this would be able to keep my cat away from my laptop. I've told him no, sprayed him with a squirt bottle, picked him up and off, nothing works.
Hmm, I wonder, how would it be, if my german shepherd would like to jump over my desk... :-D