Hello, girls. I'm new here and I would like to ask you a question…
Do you have any tricks to keep your cats away from your setup?
Mine love to lie on my desk, which doesn't bother me at all, but I have found several chewed cables, as well as my mouse pad full of scratches. Unfortunately, I can't keep them out of my office, because that's the same place their litter box is.
I offered my husband to place a litter box that can be moved out of the office at night or when there is no one to supervise them, so we could close the office and prevent any damage, and put it back in the office during the day or when we have guests, but he says that would only stress our cats and refused to implement my idea. We don't have much space at home, and the only place we can put the litter box is in our office. I have bought new toys and tried to give them a more entertaining and stimulating space to keep them away from my things but nothing seems to work.
What do you do to avoid these problems?
Their setup
your background is so cute! did you make it, or did you find it online?
about the kitty issue, i use a laptop but i always ‘cat proof’ when im done. i move the mouse and mousepad into a cubby of my desk and my cords are all organized and hidden away as best i can.
only thing i can really do is pick up the cat(s) and put em down or repeat ‘no’ in a deep(ish) voice. i say it the same way every time so they know it means they are being naughty.
i hope this helps or you end up figuring it out!
edit: clarification
I mean a good rule of thumb with pets is that if you deny them from something, give them something alternative that is ”a yes”. So if the desk is a no, give them something else to hang out with you on. This could be a cat tree nearby, maybe one if those desk kitty seats or even building a cat highway above your pc desk.
Another good way to make sure is use basic clicker training. People in general don’t give cats enough credit how trainable they actually are. Once you have a place you want your cat to hang out instead on your pc desktop, show them with treat and clicker that it *is* much nicer place for them.
There are some good videos about the subject on youtube as well, I heavily recommend Jackson Galaxy’s especially.
You want a Cat Trap. A throne for your cats, next your setup, so they can supervise you.
Get a second litter box that’s outside of the office. Close the office door at night.
You’ve got to want them to be up there, then they won’t be.
You can get a bitter spray that’s non-toxic to cats – spray it on your cables and maybe that will give them an unpleasant surprise? Also, put your mouse pad etc away (buy a suitable storage box if you don’t have drawer space).
Do they have any toys they can play with by themselves? Ours enjoy the type that’s basically a box with paw-sized holes in the top and sides, with small toys inside – you could make one at home for next to nothing if you don’t want to buy one. Maybe put a couple of treats inside too, to get them interested? If that works, it could be part of your evening routine to put your stuff away and get the toys out – cats are basically toddler-level intelligence, so you have to treat them much the same 😀
You don’t. You just buy things with cords that have cloth wrapping. That’s how my headset, mouse, and keyboard have survived as long as they have and they’re expensive razer products.
Give them to me and I shall snuggle the shit out of them :3 problem solved
Get them their own setup so they feel included. 😆
One thing you could try is putting some of the spray that prevents cats from scratching stuff on the things you don’t want them to destroy.
It’s like an orange/citrus smell that cats don’t like. Do it long enough and they should stop interacting with that stuff even once you stop.
My elderly cat likes to sit between my keyboard and my screen. Though while she doesn’t chew cords or scratch the desk pad, she does block my view. She just wants to be near me. I compromised by giving her a soft spot to sleep on to my left when on my PC. Though my “desk” is actually an old ass dining table. that doubles as my work station. If you don’t have the extra space, maybe put a stand or cat tree near you for them to hang out on.
https://preview.redd.it/afgn3sdmxged1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47a7da961c377a5f1cc9c746c748a4b1c796a68f
Edit: speak about her and she cometh
I bought a little cat tree to put on my desk 🙂 It’s one of their fave places to sleep now, and they tend to favor it over my keyboard or sitting directly in front of my monitors now lol
https://preview.redd.it/kdjd5pljxhed1.jpeg?width=452&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1ba69b3640ec84249938155c5409de5489bf8ae
I have the same problem 🤣 Hammy *has to* lay on my desk while I game!
https://preview.redd.it/mrhw4qrw6hed1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ac3d85cb209ab7bd3f886b0e35ac6b4e84a0575
I think you need more cats, personally. But that’s just my opinion lmao. As for how to get them away? They’re a cat, cats usually don’t listen haha
My cats actually don’t bother going near my PC/keyboard (apart from one – he’ll stand on my desk and walk over my keyboard if he wants a cuddle and I’m busy).
Maybe set up a bed next to/on your desk? My brother-in-law has done this to some success.
For cable chewing: I’ve had success using a bitter spray that I spray onto cables when I notice my cat getting too interested in them. He’d go to chew and imediately be grossed out by the smell, over time he’s just learned to leave the cables alone entirely.
Otherwise I just try to give him plenty of stimulation and playtime away from the PC so he is less bored and less likely to mess with my things. If I’m in a multiplayer game and he’s getting up in my space I have a “cat aggro” macro button to press to let my party know I’ll be a minute lol
PVC pipes cut to size to prevent cat nibbling might be what you need. They come in different sizes and aren’t expensive.
Sadly you cannot lol they love you! ACCEPT THEIR LOVE! BOW TO YOUR CAT OVERLORD
I’ve got 4 kitties and haven’t had issues with them being on the desk or chewing cables when I’m not around. They’ll hang out when I’m there, usually when they want attention, and gently dissuading them from being on the desk or chewing cables when they get excited is typically enough.
Put toys, scratching posts, and beds or pads around where they like to hang out (including in better places in your office/game space), and redirect them when they start getting into mischief. Cats are usually very smart, so, they understand when you don’t want them to do something, just reinforce it positively and be consistent. They can be willful, but they’ll usually only do that when you’re around, and usually to get your (sometimes negative) attention. If they’re using your desk as a play area, it might be because they don’t have other play areas. Kitties have strong hunting instincts, so try to bundle or hide cables, or make sure they don’t dangle enticingly when you can’t.
Play with them in places you want them to play. Make sure to spend time daily engaging with them: brush them, trim their little needle claws, talk to them, make obvious your intent to feed them, train them or just positively reinforce behavior you like with treats, laser, or other kinds of play.
At the end of the day, you can’t always control the little derps, so make sure to cover or conceal things that you don’t want damaged, and put replaceable things where they insist on being destructive. Consider wireless stuff, where applicable. Usually you can curtail the worst of the impulses with the advice above, or at least it’s been good in my experience.
Good luck!
Some don’t care, but other cats are really sensitive to the litterbox placement. One of our previous cats had multiple places to choose from, but they only liked one box (everything was the same except for placement). If the favorite one was not available, they would choose a houseplant or the carpet instead.
I would recommend getting new ones and watching them how they react to them. If it is positive, you can try to influence them to favor the new one. Contratry to popular beliefs, cat’s behavior etc can be influenced, but it is hard and needs to be done right, otherwise it stresses out the cat and leads to more problems.
For now, I recommend getting some kind of protector for the cables and make sure they are hidden properly. You can also try citrus smells, since cats hate it, but some of them are not deterred by them.
The litter box can’t go in the bathroom or anything? Moving it back and forth can cause a lot of confusion for them and they might start toileting NOT in it.
Because otherwise that ain’t your stuff, that’s theirs 😂
You can buy cable wraps to protect those and put the mouse pad away when you’re not using it as alternatives.
The should probably have more than 1 box anyway if you can find a space for a second. The only way to keep them off the space is to make there not be anywhere to go, or give them something better, try a cat tower taller than the desk. As far as the chewing, they might be bored, do they have enough toys? Mine generally just like catnip mice the most. You can also try wrapping the cables in aluminum foil, or purpose built protectors
You can buy air canisters with a motion detector on them that will spray out a puff of air when your cat approaches. Cats really don’t like that, so then they avoid the area. You could put one on your desk pointing at your setup, and another under the desk if you have any cables under there. I haven’t used these but I have a couple friends who have with good success. After a little while their cats started avoiding the canisters completely, even once it runs out.
There’s also a bitterant spray you can buy to spray on things like your cables that you don’t want your cats to chew on. This works for most cats but not all, it didn’t deter my cable-chewing cat (she actually licks it up). What did work for us was smearing a thin layer of dish soap on the cables. It does need to be reapplied occasionally.
If you have space in your office, it’d be a good idea to add a scratcher and bed for them. Preferably the bed would be at least as tall as your desk, I saw you said there’s one under the desk but most cats prefer to lay higher up. There are a lot of options that could work and save space, like a combo scratching post with a bed on top, a scratcher that hangs from a doorknob, a horizontal scratcher that could fit under the desk, a suction cup bed/hammock that could go on a window, etc. This will give them some (hopefully more attractive) alternatives to your stuff.
About moving the litter boxes, your husband may be right that it would stress them out. Some cats really don’t like changes to their litter boxes and may refuse to use it if it gets moved regularly, which can result in them going outside the litter box. But some cats won’t care at all and will still use it no matter where you put it. So it’s just a toss-up of whether you want to risk it or not.
Also if your cats have been totally fine with 2 litter boxes, don’t worry about getting a third like some people are saying. It’s true the general rule of thumb for number of litter boxes is your number of cats plus one, but if it’s already working for your cats then you don’t need to change it. If you ever start having problems with them not using the litter box, then adding a third in a different area would be a great thing to try though.
Spare keyboard! Seriously, I have an extra keyboard that I rarely use and that keeps her off of the laptop.
Yes, it won’t match the aesthetic. I wholeheartedly agree. My cat argues that a cat on a spare keyboard _is, in and of itself,_ kawaii. She makes a good point.
Build a very large cage for you and your setup to sit in. They can have the house while you have a kennel