Do you suffer from cat interruptions? Does your cat sit on your computer while you are working? Or on your newspaper while you are reading it. Or perhaps he starts talking to you, loudly, when you are on the phone. These could be described as cat interruptions.
What is the reason?
Computer
There are probably two or three reasons:
- The computer is warm. Cats like to be on or near warm objects.
- You are on the computer and he wants to be near you. The computer might be in the way. For a cat it is just an inconvenience.
- I find that my cat actually quite likes hard surfaces sticking into him. For example he will put his bum next a sharp edge of the computer. It looks uncomfortable to me. Or he will lie across cables. He likes lying on cables.
There is something happening if he likes lying on lumpy surfaces. Something in the wild cat ancestry. It might just simply be that cats in the wild lie on rough surfaces. Humans like smooth, soft surfaces. Domestic cats like both and are more tolerant in my opinion of certain kinds of lumpy surfaces or like them.
It is said that cats want to get your attention. So sitting on a newspaper that you are reading is a way of stopping you reading and interacting with him instead.
I am not convinced about that theory.
Newspapers
The main reasons why cats sit on your newspaper while you are reading it is:
- They don’t recognise that you are reading it and
- It provides insulation and is therefore warm.
- You are close by and he wants to be near you.
It may be he sits on a book or documents. It is all the same.
Phone
As for the phone, your cat will hear your voice and think you are talking to him. He will respond if he is used to having a conversation with you. My cat does this. If I am in one room talking and he is in another, he will shout out to me and eventually come into the room and join in.
It may be the case that your cat responds better and interrupts you more when you are talking to someone you know. Your voice is likely to sound more gentle and be similar to the voice you use when talking to your cat.
A cat who interrupts your phone call is not after your attention in my opinion. He thinks you are after attention from him!
What kind of interruptions do you have to deal with?
He sounds very special. Unusual for a cat, other than wild cat hybrid to like showers! Savannahs like showers but he is the first purebred non wild cat hybrid I know of who liked showers. You still remember him fondly after all these years. I am the same about my lost cats. I have some very bright images in my head about them as if it were yesterday.
As cat lovers/rescuers/helper for over 50+ yrs, we have had an assortment of colors/personalities as well as quirks, the most memorable was a pure bred male Russian Blue. He loved to take showers with my husband. If he found an open window to a car truck he’d sneak in for a long nap scaring driver/owner out of wits. Hated large dogs but was terrified of black birds. If his drinking water wasn’t fresh he would just dump it. Sadly late October 1988 lost him due to kidney failure, we could not watch him going thru so much pain. Euthanasia. Keke was one very loving unusual cat.
keenpetite
Southeast Arizona (USA)
I’d love to be in your place for a while, especially if I was a cat 🙂 Everything you say tells me your cats are in the right place.
I’m scared of them consuming tiny amounts of toothpaste if I spit it down the drain right between them whilst they are playing with the water coming from the tap. As soon as I spit toothpaste down the drain, of course it all doesn’t go down immediatley and they sniff it right away and could easily lick it. I have a feeling that toothpaste is one of the things that would be not so good for a cat. It’s very strong stuff actually and I wouldn’t want them to swallow it.
I know. I am his servant. But..I love him. What else can I be?
And, does he ask to be let out, cause you to come-then not go out? Oh yeah, he is winning.