Keyboard-loving cat sees computer as rival

#Middlebury #Cats

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: Whenever I’m videoconferencing from home, my cat insists on jumping into my lap and pawing at the screen and the keyboard. If I put him outside the room, he will meow loudly and nonstop until I let him back in. Once the call is finished, he quiets down and goes away. To my co-workers, this is just a funny distraction, but I worry that it will have a negative impression on clients. How can I calm him down? – Melanie in Pittsburgh

DEAR MELANIE: This is a tough one that many cat owners have faced. And now that so many of us are exclusively working from home, it’s going to continue – unless you take some proactive steps.

Cats jump onto your keyboard because they know it gets your attention. They’re not trying to figure out how to write social media posts. They just want you to pay as much attention to them as you do to the laptop screen. And locking a cat out of the room can trigger separation anxiety or just plain frustration that they can’t get in to be with you.

Try this: Before a video call, give your cat 10 to 20 minutes of undivided attention. Pet him, play with his favorite toys, scratch his belly. This may help stop or reduce the number of times he jumps into your lap.

Use positive reinforcement to teach your cat to do more of what you want and less of the things you don’t want him to do. To learn more about this training method, go to napahumane.org and search for “cats, positive reinforcement training.” Its basic premise is to reward your cat when he does something right.

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