If you've got a cat and a laptop, you've probably found your kitty lounging about near or on your laptop (or just on computers in general). While we understand that cats enjoy sitting on something warm, it's kind of funny and annoying at the same time. I can't remember the number of times that I've shushed my own cat Yoda off my laptop. What can you do to stop this behavior?
Sure, finding your cat on your laptop is funny. My wife finds it pretty funny when Yoda climbs up on her own MacBook, but I dislike it as she tends to knead. This means that she'll most probably end up scratching up my laptop at some point in time. It's not something I want to happen. Here are a few ideas to keep your pet off your laptop.
1. Move your laptop You can easily take your laptop away into another locked room. Currently, I'm using part of this option since I don't want to take chances. My laptop ends up in the bedroom with the door closed; no pets allowed.
2. Place some cat obstacles on your laptop This involves stacking a few light things from your desk, like notebooks, calendars, a tissue box, to create an obstacle to prevent your cat from lounging on your laptop. In my experience, this only works part of the time as an intelligent cat will most likely just throw these off to make space for itself.
3. Use a notebook stand This is a simple solution that will probably leave everyone happy. The stand, that will put your laptop at an angle or upright, makes it impossible for a cat to lie on it.
4. Create a cat bed nearby Using a small blanket or cushion, you can create an alternative resting spot for your cat. Although I wouldn't put it on you desk, since cats tend to throw stuff off them, it could be put on one of your nearby shelves. Since I also have a dog, my pets are a lethal combo. The cat throws something off and the dog chews on it.
5. Take your cat on your lap Our feral little cat has turned into a lap cat, and we're sure that your cats are like this as well. The best spot in the house is on your lap, and cats enjoy staying there for hours at a time, especially if you're working.
(Image: Flickr member Nanda licensed for use under Creative Commons, Flickr member Laihiu licensed for use under Creative Commons,)
Tina Wilson's Striking Style 
30 DIY Projects for the 3-Day Weekend
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Dunes & Duchess Can...
20 Scrumptious Brunch Recipes 
Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More
Comments (9)
This is the weirdest thing. I came home and found my laptop screen tilted back - a sure sign that the infernal cat had been on it. When I closed down all the windows and whacky typing, I saw this article. For real!
My cat seems to think it is her mission in life to walk across my keyboard whenever I am typing/working. I'm starting to think she thinks it a game, I move her to the floor she jumps back into lap and across computer. Heck with scratching I just want her to stop destroying 10 minutes of work with an arrant paw.
My cat tends to turn on Sticky Keys when he walks across my laptop. Once he turned on the program that says back what you type into it while I was in the shower and when I got out I heard strange garbled voices in my apartment which is slightly disturbing when you live alone. There have been a few times when I don't even know what the heck he's done to my laptop and I've just had to restart. Unfortunately he's a persistent little bugger so he wouldn't be put off by any of these (and I have a studio so putting it in another room isn't really an option). Lately he's taken to napping on top of my mouse (while I'm using it) and rest his head on my keyboard which occasionally selects random things or switches pages in my browser.
My cat is more obsessed with laying on top of piles of papers or books that you're trying to read... Although she also used to lay on top of my boyfriend's Pioneer deck wheels. Sometime's we'd give her a little spin around. :)
keyboard locking software exists - it senses the illogical typing of a cat walking across the keyboard (or a child smacking the keys).
i'd also recommend shutting the laptop down and putting it away when you're away from it for significant amounts of time, as this prevents it from becoming an object for sitting to a cat.
furthermore, training your cats to stay off counters and tables will prevent the desktop keyboard problem.
My cat lives on my laptop. He's probably typing this comment.
we don't allow our cat on tables or counters, but occasionally we'll walk in the door or out of the shower and he's laying across the laptop.
i don't know how he did it, but once he walked across the keys in the middle of a paper i was writing for school. he pressed the exact right keys to delete it and i was crushed.
now kitty stays on my lap while i type, i save work as i go, and otherwise the laptop stays closed while not in use.
My cat protests loudly whenever I prevent him from stepping all over my laptop...then he tries about 50 more times....
When I went home over the holidays, I was flipping through skymall to look at all of the ridiculous stuff.
http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=203468232&pnr=M53&cm_mmc=Shopping-_-Google-_-M53-_-203468232
I found that. I got a good chuckle out of it - the photoshopped angry cat behind the screen is just priceless! It can be yours for $37.99!
No. My ragdoll, 18 lbs, squeezed through a diet coke 12 pack box when it was empty. He'll squeeze through that partition or knock it down somehow. If I had one, I'd fear I'd come home and find the ragdoll stuck in that opening trying to squeeze through or, worse, have knocked it off the table and it killed one of the other cats. -__-