You know the ones I’m talking about…there’s no switch, you just tap it somewhere on the shade or the base, anywhere, and it comes on.
I have one that has three levels of light. Tap tap tap is the brightest.
Anyhoo…
How do they work without a switch?
Thanks, Ice Wolf…I’ll have to remember that site!
I have on that goes on by itself, I think there is a ghost in the room that must be touching it. Reminds me of guys, touch them three times & they go on 
My cat has determined that touch lamps work, but only with her nose. I wonder if that’s because her fur doesn’t make consistent enough contact with the surface?
She uses her hard won knowledge of the applied physics of touch lamps (I saw hard won because she scared herself silly the first couple of times she accidentally turned it on) to wake people up when she wants attention in the night. If she wants something, she turns the lamp on to the first stage. If that doesn’t work, she makes it brighter. If you still haven’t woken up on the brightest setting, then she stands there and cycles the lamp on, through the settings and off, repeatedly, until you give her what she wants.
Kinda creepy how clever animals can be on their own. O_o
For the sake of fighting ignorance: your cat has to use her nose because her fur isn’t conductive enough. A wet kitty nose is really close to human skin. But I do think it’s very cool that your cat figured this out.
I can turn it on just touching it with a wet paper towel.