# People with cats: How long will you sit still with a cat in your lap before you move it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 29, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022 "2013-04-29T17:03:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/21 "2013-04-29T23:36:57Z")
If you want to get up out of your chair without guilt, get them used to riding on your shoulders. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/22 "2013-04-30T00:17:59Z")
It depends on whether or not I can get my husband to do my bidding while I am incapacitated by the cat. My cat isn’t content to sit on my lap. He climbs me until he is sitting half on my chest and half on my shoulder, which is pretty immobilizing. How long I’ll wait really depends on the mood I’m in. ETA: **Chef Troy** , your cats are adorabells! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/23 "2013-04-30T00:31:44Z")
Until I have to get up, or until I can no longer feel my legs (which with Luci is a possibility). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/24 "2013-04-30T00:36:13Z")
Lotta, our oldest, insists on lying on Pepper Mill’s legs. There MUST be a blanket between them, and it MUST be the right blanket. Then she’ll stay there forever.Pepper Mill says that she has remained there for over an hour, but I think the record is much longer. Three of our cats have insisted on sleeping on Pepper Mill when she goes to bed at night (in succession, not at the same time) – Maggie, Clarence, and now Hestia. I don’t know how long they stay there, but it’s multiple hours for certain. ---
**Author:** ![slightly\_askew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@slightly\_askew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slightly_askew)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/25 "2013-04-30T00:42:20Z")
We long ago resigned ourselves to the fact that we are cat furniture. At one point this weekend, I had two of the fuzz-heads on my lap and one on each side. Still, we get up when we need to. Actually, they associate the TV turning off with being fed, so all we really have to do is turn off the TV and they hop down and run to their bowls. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/26 "2013-04-30T01:35:48Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Generally the cat stays on the lap until I need to get up. However the definition of “need to get up” changes in the presence of a lapped cat. For example, “Honey, could you get me a glass of water, I would get it myself but I have a cat on my lap.” Is a purrfectly reasonable request. > [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > It depends on whether or not I can get my husband to do my bidding while I am incapacitated by the cat. This is completely reasonable in our household: you have a cat, you get things brought to you. The more cats you have (or the cuter the cat’s pose), the more service you get. The only catch for me in this is that after I’ve been served coffee a couple of times, there’s an errand I have to do that no one else can help with. Of course, the cats love going in the bathroom with their people almost as much as sitting on us, so that’s kind of a win/win. Adorable kitties there, **Chef Troy**! ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/27 "2013-04-30T01:46:39Z")
Mine seem to know that if I’m on the couch with feet on the floor or propped on the table that I’m not staying there for too long, so they “visit” and will curl up against my thigh but not get on me. Once I lay down on the couch, I always get one on my chest or side depending on how I’m laying, and one under my legs or in the crook behind my knees. Sometimes a second one will drape himself over my leg, with his butt toward my thigh and head at my knee, straddled there like a grounded manatee. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/28 "2013-04-30T01:52:05Z")
It depends. Olive is pretty heavy so if she sits on my lap when I’m sitting with my legs folded on the floor, I can’t take it for more than ten minutes before I start getting pins and needles. If she sits on me when I’m stretched out on the couch, I’ll let her stay until I need to get up. I love it when I’m lying on my side and she curls up next to me, right under my chin. So warm and floofeh! ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/29 "2013-04-30T02:40:14Z")
I used to be like **Johnny Bravo** and envy people with lap cats. Then I got a brother-sister duo and they are both intensely needy, and fight over my lap. I like it up to a point. The point is right about when the temperature hits the hundreds and I am home to two furry heaters. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/30 "2013-04-30T05:55:16Z")
The cats sit on us until we absolutely MUST get up. They have explained, with varying degrees of patience, that their desires override our needs. Oh, and orange males seem to be about the lovingest cats ever. Congratulations. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/31 "2013-04-30T06:36:35Z")
DO NOT DISTURB THE CATS. Under no circumstance are you EVER allowed to dislodge them! You may, in dire circumstances, shift around and “encourage” them to get up and off of your lap… but the circumstances must be dire indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/32 "2013-04-30T06:42:35Z")
I can’t sit still for very long. the cats got use to it. One thing I did with both cats from day one was to pick them up by the scruff of the neck. Made it easy to relocate a cat one-handed. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/33 "2013-04-30T07:01:00Z")
When Nefurtari makes that “Yowwowow” noise that means “I haz kak”, I am pushing her off me post-haste. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/34 "2013-04-30T07:44:28Z")
Those cats are insanely cute. As for me, I wait until I have to pee really bad. And then I apologize to them as soon as I get up 😉 ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/35 "2013-04-30T13:11:29Z")
Ophelia is a complete attention whore, if you sit down for more than five seconds she’ll be on your lap demanding fuss so she gets booted fairly regularly - doesn’t take long before she’s back though. Shadow is much less of a lap cat so if he wants some fuss and cuddles, I’m much less inclined to move him until I think he’s had a decent amount of attention. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/36 "2013-04-30T13:18:32Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > The only catch for me in this is that after I’ve been served coffee a couple of times, there’s an errand I have to do that no one else can help with. Of course, the cats love going in the bathroom with their people almost as much as sitting on us, so that’s kind of a win/win. What is up with that? My cat, and I presume most cats are this way, is immensely private about his own bathroom duties. He won’t go and will just stand there meowing at you until you leave so he can do his business. Yet he has no problem barreling into our bathroom and invading _our_ personal space. Surely he understands it’s the same concept? ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/37 "2013-04-30T13:46:05Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > ..I presume most cats are this way, – immensely private about his own bathroom duties. He won’t go and will just stand there meowing at you until you leave so he can do his business. ummm…You presume wrong. My cat isn’t private at all..When I clean her litter box, she stands alongside and meows at me angrily. She watches me scoop it out, and then ,\* while I’m pouring more litter into the box\*, she jumps in and starts using it. She doesn’t even care if she gets a downpour of sandy particles on her head–It’s her territory, dammit, and she’s gonna mark it. As for the vital issue mentioned in the OP: Where she sits depends on where I sit. If I’m on the couch, she’s on my lap. Always. And no, I don’t get up–that would disturb her, ya know… If I’m sitting at the computer, she crawls up to my shoulder, with her front paws resting on my left shoulder, and her rear feet in the crook of my left elbow.( So,yeah, I have to type one handed.) But if I want to get up from the chair, I’m allowed to- because then I just carry her around the house on my shoulder, and she likes that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/38 "2013-04-30T13:51:38Z")
My cat (the lap-lying one) usually leaves before I have to boot him off, although I have no qualms about booting him off if need be. He’ll hear something happening on the other side of the house, and then in a flash he’ll use my balls as a launching pad to leap off of my lap. Oof. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/39 "2013-04-30T13:59:45Z")
I got one of mine trained. As soon as he hears the words “Sorry buddy” he knows to get up. The other one is like a limp rag. I can pick him up, cradle him like a baby and then just deposit him on whatever soft pillow that happens to be close by. He hardly even notices. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022/40 "2013-04-30T14:10:55Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > Oh, and since I know there’s a rule, here’s a pic of them (they’re already noticeably bigger than this): > > [That’s Cheeto in the blue collar and Dorito in the purple collar.](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200657270618207&set=pb.1353785597.-2207520000.1367255033.&type=3&theater) \ We can’t have cats because SWMBO is allergic to them. But I have been owned by many cats in my life and I, too, would avoid disturbing the purr machinery until it is absolutely necessary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-cats-how-long-will-you-sit-still-with-a-cat-in-your-lap-before-you-move-it/657022.md?page=3)