Plus , joke to keep your keyboard kitty - free .

If you ’re a cat proprietor work out from home or browsing through Netflix titles , there ’s a unspoiled chance you ’re lock in in a heated battle over your calculator keyboard . What gives ?

Cats exhibit a lot of peculiar deportment ( includingstaring at youandfollowing you to the bathroom ) , but their adoration for keyboard is surely one of the oddest . Or is it ? There are actually a batch of reasons why you might line up cats on keyboard .

cat laying on computer keyboard

Photo: vladans / Getty

Keyboards Are Basically a Cat Bed

Your calculator can get quite fond as you use it , creating an all - too - tantalising spot for kat naps .

" bozo often feel attract to the warmth of electronics and require to nap on a laptop . And if you defend the electronic computer in your lap , your cat may conceive ( rightly ! ) that the lap covering belongs to Kitty ! " says Amy Shojai , CABC , a certifiedanimal behavior consultantand founder and president emeritus of theCat Writers ' Association . She add that our cats might also cogitate humans need something better to look at , like a beautiful feline , " rather than stare at the tedious screen for hour on end . "

Your Cat Wants Attention

While some kittiesmeow to get your attention , others invade your personal space when they want something — and if that stand for jam access to the computer keyboard , so be it .

" Yes , qat also can apply this behavior to literally ' push your buttons ' to get attention or anything else , " Shojai says . " For instance , if you fill the nutrient pipe bowl or discard a toy to entice the cat to vacate your calculator , Kitty read to use that behavior in the hereafter . You ’ve been train by the good ! "

But a cat flopping onto or take the air across your keyboard might also not have such nefarious intentions . Studies repeatedly show thatcats love their owners , so maybe they only habituate this proximity as a way to be faithful to us and ask for chin scritches .

Hunting Instincts Are Kicking In

It might be just another day of employment for you , but Kitty sees you becoming quiet and serious , centre constrict , posture shift as you snap on the winder . To them , these are important demeanour to observe .

Shojai writes onher blog"it ’s the speech sound and sight of be active prey that provides the stimulant to following and capture , a hardwired demeanour as natural to thecat as purring … and wait with infinite patience for prey to seem . " Your tippity - tapping fingers might trigger off something in their innate hunter ’s brain .

Does this mean they ’re … stalkingyou ? Perhaps . For an indoor kitty , watch you type off could beexactlythe provoke enrichment they ’ve anticipated all mean solar day . It does n’t meancats are psychopathsor anything — they might also think you ’re playing and need to join in the fun .

Shojai adds that cats love routine . So when your pet sees you go into " work mood " by setting down a potable and firing up the computer , they cogitate " Ah ha ! Time for me to get into position , too ! "

How to Keep Your Cat off the Keyboard

A cat on your keyboard , while distracting , wo n’t hurt them unless they get too rum and start act as with the cords . Your scheme , on the other bridge player , might get upshot . Cat fur and hackles often get stuck between the keys , require you to protrude them off for a thorough cleaning . And if Kitty frequently sleeps on the keyboard , this could get the arrangement to overheat .

So , since you do n’t want to discourage your pet from wanting to expend sentence with you , Shojai suggests usingpositive reinforcement cuesand techniques tobond with your catand keep your keyboard kitty - loose . Here are some ideas :