Unfortunately, it\u2019s probably not a form of copycat behaviour \u2013 your moggie doesn\u2019t see you typing and want to join in on the fun.<\/p>\n
True, recent research suggests that felines are able to imitate human behaviour. (One study even demonstrated cats can map their body onto ours in order to repeat actions<\/a>, such as touching a box with their head or specific limb).<\/p>\n However, according to Dr David Sands<\/a> \u2013 expert in animal psychology with over 25 years of clinical experience \u2013\u00a0the action of typing isn\u2019t easily mimicked by cats. This explains why they likely won\u2019t be interested in any decoy old laptop you try to entice them with.<\/p>\n Read more about cats:<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s also unlikely cats are solely drawn to the warmth your laptop generates, either. \u201cYes, laptops emit heat and hot spaces are attractive to cats. But you need to ask why your cat doesn\u2019t just sit by a radiator, for instance,\u201d says Sands.<\/p>\n The real attraction of your laptop to cats? Its scent. Or, to be more precise: the scent you regularly deposit there.<\/p>\n \u201cYou won\u2019t be able to sniff it, but a cat can smell you all over the keyboard,\u201d says Sands.<\/p>\n \u201cCats are scent machines from the end of the tail to the tip of their nose. Their world is about scent \u2013 their eyesight\u2019s developed for night-time hunting, meaning their sense of smell is really<\/em> important at other times.\u201d<\/p>\n However, while it\u2019s possible your cat may sit on your computer as they enjoy this scent, another explanation is far more likely, according to Sands.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s more probable your cat wants to deposit its own scent and supplant yours. It\u2019s all about ownership \u2013 by doing this your cat is effectively saying \u2018I own you!\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cPeople always think cats rubbing themselves against you or things you touch are expressing love. But actually, cats are very possessing individuals. For them, the more they can brush past you and deposit your scent, the better!\u201d<\/p>\n Just in case you have any doubt your cat is hell-bent on becoming the dominant force in your house, Sands adds: \u201cWhile dogs have been bred to become our companions, cats are still reasonably feral. They have been largely bred as vermin control and are not social creatures \u2013 they\u2019re out for themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cRemember: cats are evil geniuses \u00ad\u2013 they\u2019re in that swivelling chair in the James Bond<\/em> films for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n From closing important documents without saving, to sending another message to your boss along the lines of \u2018s,ll,;;;;;l;mk\u2019, a laptop-lounging cat can cause you plenty of emotional damage. And if they are disrupting your work, Sands advises cleaning your laptop regularly.<\/p>\n However, your cat is unlikely to be harmed by chilling on your computer. \u201cPhysically, this won\u2019t hurt then. And cognitively, you only really need to worry about this behaviour if it occurs with others,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cIf your cat is also vocalising a great deal and constantly following you around the home, it could be a sign of anxiety and attention-seeking.\u201d<\/p>\n But if your cat isn\u2019t showing these signs? There\u2019s no reason why they can\u2019t sprawl across your keyboard. Well, they do own it, you and everything else in the home.<\/p>\n With a doctorate in ethology (animal psychology) at Liverpool University, Sands has over 25 experience at his animal behavioural clinic. He is a Fellow of the Canine and Feline Behaviour Association (CFBA) and the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB). Sands is also the author of Cats 500 Questions Answered<\/a>, Hamlyn, \u00a34).<\/em><\/p>\n Read more about the science of cats<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <\/body><\/html>\n How your cat’s annoying keyboard-lounging habit is part of its ploy to possess your house. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27271,"template":"","categories":[30],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/the-no-so-cute-reason-your-cat-loves-sitting-on-your-laptop.jpg",940,420,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/the-no-so-cute-reason-your-cat-loves-sitting-on-your-laptop-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/the-no-so-cute-reason-your-cat-loves-sitting-on-your-laptop-300x134.jpg",300,134,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/the-no-so-cute-reason-your-cat-loves-sitting-on-your-laptop-768x343.jpg",768,343,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/the-no-so-cute-reason-your-cat-loves-sitting-on-your-laptop.jpg",800,357,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/the-no-so-cute-reason-your-cat-loves-sitting-on-your-laptop.jpg",940,420,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/the-no-so-cute-reason-your-cat-loves-sitting-on-your-laptop.jpg",940,420,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"How your cat's annoying keyboard-lounging habit is part of its ploy to possess your house.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/27270"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2021\/04\/cat-laptop-7a26079.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C411"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Is it unhealthy for my cat to sit on my laptop?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
About our expert, Dr David Sands<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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