# The Cat won't let me work **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 12, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938 "2016-01-12T16:21:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/1 "2016-01-12T16:21:06Z")
I guess I have to take the day off. [Tonka won’t let me see my data notebook](http://s107.photobucket.com/user/llaaksonen/media/Tonka%20helping.jpg.html). ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/2 "2016-01-12T16:23:18Z")
Tonka is beautiful! ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/3 "2016-01-12T17:39:34Z")
You need a [cat-apult](https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ggzvZ8Kxbk?vndclient=mv-google&vndapp=youtube_mobile&vndel=watch&vnddnc=1)! ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/4 "2016-01-12T19:14:06Z")
As the caretaker of two of our feline overlords, I support your decision 100%. You should go to the store and buy some salmon, now. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/5 "2016-01-12T19:53:43Z")
I have a cat that likes to help me type, but he is a lousy speller. So, I set up a ‘cat trap’ on my desk. Worked like a charm. [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/Lj7Q7Su.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/Lj7Q7Su) ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/6 "2016-01-12T19:53:56Z")
Kitties Against Literacy strikes again ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/7 "2016-01-12T20:25:01Z")
Ours is convinced that the floor is the proper location for all pens and pencils. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/8 "2016-01-12T20:52:36Z")
I try explaining to my cats that I HAVE to work to make the money to buy the noms. But they don’t give a shit. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/9 "2016-01-12T21:43:28Z")
> [@Encinitas](#): > > I try explaining to my cats that I HAVE to work to make the money to buy the noms. But they don’t give a shit. Of course not. In a pinch, they can always eat you. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/10 "2016-01-12T21:48:18Z")
Good Tonka! Require many scratches and treats before you move! My cats like to run across my keyboard or lay down on my iPad while I am using it. I share your pain. **jasg** I like your cat trap! I’ve tried using fuzzy blankets, but a box is genius. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/11 "2016-01-12T21:56:24Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > I have a cat that likes to help me type, but he is a lousy speller. So, I set up a ‘cat trap’ on my desk. > > Worked like a charm. > > [Imgur: The magic of the Internet](http://imgur.com/Lj7Q7Su) Our cats are weird. They don’t like sitting in boxes. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/12 "2016-01-12T22:58:50Z")
My cat’s favourite sleeping spot is a newspaper or magazine - but only if I am actually reading it. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/13 "2016-01-12T23:14:09Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > My cat’s favourite sleeping spot is a newspaper or magazine - but only if I am actually reading it. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Our cats are weird. They don’t like sitting in boxes. Try putting some catnip (or a magazine) in the box 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/14 "2016-01-12T23:34:45Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Our cats are weird. They don’t like sitting in boxes. Our cat loves her toy box, which in a former life was a shoe box. Not the hundred dollars worth of toys that are in it, just the box, preferably closed so that she can poke her paws into the factory holes in the ends (and just why are there holes in shoe boxes, anyway?), and flip the lid open with her nose. Her favorite toy is a piece of frayed twine. ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/15 "2016-01-13T00:34:33Z")
Every single box that comes into this house is for the cat of course. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/16 "2016-01-13T03:20:49Z")
One of my cats runs across the keyboard and makes the screen go all wonky. One time I came back from the bathroom and the screen was rotated 90 degrees. I didn’t know what key combination would restore it, so I got on my kindle [very hard to type with screen sideways] and searched for “my cat ran across my keyboard and now it’s sideways,” and found lots of [discussion](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=&bih=&q=cat+ran+across+keyboard+and+now+its+sideways&gbv=2&oq=cat+ran+across+keyboard+and+now+its+sideways&gs_l=heirloom-hp.3...2164.34215.0.35980.55.34.2.19.0.1.276.5765.1j28j5.34.0....0...1ac.1.34.heirloom-hp..24.31.4777.7AYxuInKxhg). Apparently it’s common. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/17 "2016-01-13T03:34:28Z")
Sigh. Your problem is right in front of you. Am I the only person who saw a mouse in the picture? Get a laptop. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/18 "2016-01-13T04:06:42Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Sigh. Your problem is right in front of you. > > Am I the only person who saw a mouse in the picture? > > Get a laptop. Ha! The mouse is attached to my laptop. That way I can use both hands. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/19 "2016-01-13T04:55:04Z")
I work in an office with 20 cats and usually a smallish dog running around. It functions like an office: paperwork, computers, a copier, books and pens and tape and so forth. Except that one cat is sure my inbox is her bed and will shove all the papers out of it if she wants to take a nap, we occasionally stop working because we smell poop and have to hunt it down, and “I have a dog on my lap” is a totally legitimate reason not to do something. We’ve learned never to [leave food unattended](http://i.imgur.com/fqElb7K.jpg), never to roll backwards in your chair without looking first, that certain cats can get away with [all kinds of shenanigans](http://i.imgur.com/PAuZQU6.jpg) just because they’re ridiculously cute, and that anything that moves [is a target](http://i.imgur.com/ZKJEPwq.jpg). Also, to always [dress well](http://i.imgur.com/4CliWhS.jpg), especially if you’ve got a bald little monkey butt and a cone of shame. And to listen when your [cat says](http://i.imgur.com/Ye9OPIj.jpg) that it’s [time for a break.](http://i.imgur.com/uRxaJtt.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938/20 "2016-01-13T20:10:26Z")
Where do you work?! :eek: I had no idea such a place existed. It sounds awesome! 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-wont-let-me-work/742938.md?page=2)