Cat Boundaries - My Affectionate Old Cat Won't Stop Trying To Sit On My Keyboard

[Deilla]

I was actually having the same problem with my cat. I didn't really know what to do. I'm glad I found this post. I tried creating a space for him on my desk next to me. He loves it there. I think it solved the problem. He comes to say hi and get a head rub and then he heads for his new bed.

 

[daftcat75]

Isn't that obstructing your view of the monitor?

I haven't really solved Krista wanting to interrupt me. Instead, I roll with it and welcome the break. Unless I'm not ready for a break. Then I try to coax her into my lap.

 

[AKnightWhoLovesCats]

Thank you everyone ... @Genesis123 @rubymama @vyger and many others ... you are all so great and helpful ...
It's as if Pixel knows I'm all she needs. No matter how much I shoo her away or rub her neck.

I set up a box two feet to the right of my keyboard.
So far, I think the only detectable difference is that, I lost time setting up a box two feet to the right of my keyboard, lol

In one sense, it's all great and good. I do love her. But gosh. There's so much cat hair on my keyboard.

Which reminds me:

Any time I see a super cute adolescent dog, my first thought is: he's super cute. My second thought is: I do not want to care for that big dog every single day for the next 15 years. Give me a cat.

 

[Deilla]

Isn't that obstructing your view of the monitor?

That's my little TV for my PS4 that I hardly play. I figure when I want it I'll work something out. Lol!

 

[lakpdx]

Doh....just realized I posted the same video twice. Oops! Sorry!THIS is the one that has all the chirping that makes my cats stay off my keyboard and instant messaging my boss. Try this one! I have a conference call today that I plan on using this for.

 

[AKnightWhoLovesCats]

I figured out some sleight of hand to get Pixel to go to a place a bit to the left of the keyboard,
First, draw her attention to the right of the keyboard, letting her rub her head on your hand there,
Then draw her attention to the other side - the left,
And as she moves from right to left, give her booty a little skootch. And she gets the idea.
Ultimately I guess it's the idea of "don't you touch me right there" combined with natural movement. (Who can blame anyone for not being a little protective.)

The bottom line is that she keeps moving to the left - the goal - the settles down.
In its odd way, drawing her the opposite way, was a good solution.

The past two weeks, I thought, this would be great to feed back to TheCatSite... Okay.

... it works okay a couple of weeks.

But I sigh and remember that I am dealing with a cat ...


She is now off to my left, wondering why I keep touching some silly hard surface (human word, keyboard), lays down, and ...

There's a slightly mad tail near flicking over my keyboard, and a cat butt against its left.

Again it would seem that no matter what I do, the boundary will be found. And tested.

This was not scripted. But ultimately ... I'm only 60, I should know by now ... entirely expected.

 

[Furballsmom]

lol, hang in there

 

[rubysmama]

LOL. That's life with a cat, right.

 

[nunnc84]

Hi everyone,

It's my first post here,

My affectionate old gray cat has been a true constant over the years (she's now maybe 18). But lately it seems like a very frustrating game of, either I give her a lot of affection, or I shut her off. She doesn't understand that she needs to be 6 inches to the left of my keyboard.

I don't actually want to make it an absolute rule. I don't mind her walking the plank in front of my face before my keyboard from time to time (I'm a big PC guy, with two 4K screens), but gosh,

There's only two things happening: I let her spend untold minutes right in front of my keyboard,

Or I physically have to brush her to the side about six inches (8 cm), which she does not like and/or I have to physically push her back.

Look. I love her. But when I'm at my PC, I'm doing business or am playing PC games.

She wants affection as much or more than a dog - if it's ok to say that.

Does anyone have an idea of how I might work with her? If I gently (or brusquely) push her to the side, she always seems offended. She is not getting the message, "ok, daddy needs to work now". Even though it's been years.

Can anyone suggest useful ideas?

A ring of garlic? lol

I'm not sure how to set boundaries for a cat. I have a cat who pokes me in the eye when it's time to get up and feed her. She crawls over me in the night. I woke up with scratches on my face and chest today. I'm thinking about closing the bedroom door. For sure!
She is a great alarm clock. I like that she sleeps on the bed.

 

[Furballsmom]

Nunnc84, take a look at the article posted in post #2 in this thread, it might help

 

[basschick]

I'm not sure how to set boundaries for a cat. I have a cat who pokes me in the eye when it's time to get up and feed her. She crawls over me in the night. I woke up with scratches on my face and chest today. I'm thinking about closing the bedroom door. For sure!
She is a great alarm clock. I like that she sleeps on the bed.

i tried closing the bedroom door. that works great as long as i can ignore the constant yowing and pounding on the door - which i can't

 

[Caspers Human]

There's a slightly mad tail near flicking over my keyboard, and a cat butt against its left.

It all depends upon context but tail flicking and butt displaying can be signs of friendship in cats.

Cats that are friends with each other will often pass by each other, nose to tail, rub their bums against each other then intertwine their tails.

Also, if a cat sits or lays down, facing you, it's usually because they want to keep an eye on you. If the cat sits or lays facing away from you it's usually because they don't see you as a threat, therefore, they don't feel the need to keep eyes on you.

As I said, it's all about context but, from appearances, it seems like your cat is butt-rubbing, tail-twining and laying in a non-threat posture when she's sitting on your desk.

Three signs that you have a happy cat that loves you!

 

[nunnc84]

i tried closing the bedroom door. that works great as long as i can ignore the constant yowing and pounding on the door - which i can't

lol, I tried closing the door; and I got the same yowling.

 

[AKnightWhoLovesCats]

nunnc84 One of our past cats was like that - actually she would brush your face with her whiskers when it's for her time to get you up. (Her to get you up.) She did it to my wife more than me but it's the damned weirdest thing, whiskers waking you up. Also, purring right in your ear when you're sleeping.

Furballsmom If it is okay, can I direct reply you a little about your post #2. You have so many good ideas, but I think succinctness is ... helpful. It seems as if maybe you have written that more than once ... can I suggest a rewrite? I only want to help.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello AKnightWhoLovesCats of course you can direct reply, and thank you for the compliment!

You're referring to the article that I linked to being a little wordy? I'll mention this to the author, and thank you for the feedback, it's always helpful to hear from members/readers

 

[AKnightWhoLovesCats]

Thank you all for replying,

Relative to my cat Pixel who I love so much but at the same time I've found that loving her is like inviting a moth to the flame of me... she always finds a way to be right before you, even though you're on a PC keyboard all the time...

To catch everyone up, I said a few months back that I found a way to get her away, was to attract her to the right (where my mouse is), then to the left, then skootch her butt, and she'd sit down.

That worked ok for a week. Some months ago. And she does plop herself down to the left of my keyboard. But no matter what I did, she always sort of relaxed, over time, to skootch her butt up near the keyboard.

As a gamer I can't have a cat butt directly against the left side of my keyboard. Need completely free hand movement, plus no cat getting mad because my hand keeps brushing them.

The solution?

Maybe I am cruel but:

When she alights on my deskside for some love/attention, I give it to her in full force. On a human it would be a deep full massage. Not enough to make her wince or bite - she's purring very deeply -

But the general idea is, this is not a place to idly lay in search of a little more love. It's the place to get all or none.

If she goes and lays down to my left after proving it, which she often does, then fine. But if she keeps thinking that getting near me in my game throne means it's just more soft loving, well, she is wrong.


As with anything having to do with cats,I imagine I have only fooled myself. But it seems like a breakthrough. We'll see how it turns out in a few weeks.

Thank you for listening, anyone who is still listening.

 

[Furballsmom]

As with anything having to do with cats,I imagine I have only fooled myself. But it seems like a breakthrough. We'll see how it turns out in a few weeks.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello again. Just read your last post, and also your first one again. I see that Pixel is 18, and that this clingy behaviour is relatively new. That made me wonder, how's her health? Just wondering if her "need to be with you" behaviour might be a good reminder for a vet checkup.

 

[AKnightWhoLovesCats]

Thank you for thinking of that ... we last took her to the vet Nov. 2018. Paid some $200 plus; I can't remember all the tests at the moment.

Our best estimate is that she was born 7/1/2002, which would make her almost 17 in human years. She shows no signs of slowing down per se. But her hair - which was always sort of Einstein - has gotten more scraggly.

Do cats realize they're getting very old? Pixel has no obvious infirmities. She still jumps to chests of 3 or 4 feet if she wants to get on something, though she's not the acrobat she once was.

Rubysmama, what do you do if your cat(s) persist in wanting more attention than you want to provide in the moment?

 

[rubysmama]

Awww... Pixel sounds like a lovely "older" lady.

My Ruby girl is 7 or 8-ish (the shelter guesstimated her age) and though a sweetie pie, and will at times lay all over my computer keyboard, usually just moving her to the chair beside me works. If she got really "in the way" I'd put her out of the room and close the door.

I was just Googling "how to keep cat off computer", and found this: How to Keep a Cat Off Your Desk which I *think* is meant to be a joke.