# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 2:22pm 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/657022/41 "2013-04-30T14:22:26Z")
We very cleverly introduced the concept of the Cat Rug. The Cat Rug lives on the couch, between me and my husband, and is always available for her majesty to rest her buttocks upon. She graciously allows human feet to share the Cat Rug and may deign to rest her dainty head upon said feet. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 2:58pm 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/657022/42 "2013-04-30T14:58:08Z")
I will extend the time I sit just to be nice, but if I need to get up I don’t worry too much about it. I can put my hands up under some cats and lay them elsewhere and they barely stir. Depends on the cat. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 3:01pm 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/657022/43 "2013-04-30T15:01:09Z")
In my house we call it COLS (cat-on-lap syndrome) and it is considered a mild disability. It goes like this, “Mom, can you bring me my book? I’ve got COLS and can’t get it myself” We try to help each other out when COLS strikes, because we all know how nice and warm and furry it is. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 5:36pm 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/657022/44 "2013-04-30T17:36:04Z")
Then there is the exact opposite problem: cats that pounce onto your seat the second you stand up. Havoc is a pro at that. Then she yowls like she’s being tortured when you try to dislodge her so you can sit back down. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 5:41pm 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/657022/45 "2013-04-30T17:41:20Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Then there is the exact opposite problem: cats that pounce onto your seat the second you stand up. Havoc is a pro at that. Then she yowls like she’s being tortured when you try to dislodge her so you can sit back down. I’ve got a couple like that–they’ll _instantly_ take your spot when you get up. We’ve gotten used to checking for cats before we sit back down, though a couple times they’ve come dangerously close to being sat on. And yeah, one of them yowls quite indignantly when you try to move her. The other one just looks at us with this contemptuous “_Again_, human? Make up your _mind_, will you?” sort of look. ---
**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, 5:49pm 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/657022/46 "2013-04-30T17:49:23Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > 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. Oh, dear. Mine must be defective. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 3:11pm 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/657022/47 "2013-05-01T15:11:29Z")
Oh, indefinitely - the one exception being a bathroom break. Widget the wonder kitten is a snuggle-monster. ‘If I sit she fits,’ so to speak. And if I’m not sitting but stand still long enough, chances are good there will suddenly be a kitten on my shoulder in short order. She is capable of making a sitting jump from the floor to my shoulder without any trouble. Maggie is a couple notches less snuggly but she still manages to find my lap on a fairly regular basis. And Turk, my 18-pound bruiser will deign to snuggle, but only his terms and that might be a couple times a week. [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=2)