Re: Cat Tracks


"Yowie" <yowie9644.DIESPAMDIE@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:7b042eF2198v0U1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kitchen counters are supposed to tbe a 'no go' zone for cats, but I've long since given up trying to dissuade any feline from being there. Pickle and Shadow are not really interested anyway, but Suki insists of strutting between kitchen counter, the window sill and the back of the lounge.

In between the window sill and the lounge is Joel's computer desk, in between the kitchen counter and the window sill is mine.

Joel's computer desk is full of various bits of rubble and junk, so it can be tricky for a cat with very little balance to grace to through. When Joel is using his PC, she tends to like sleeping on top of his tower - its warm up there and she gets a cat's eye view of the world - indeed, may even get a few scritches.

But my desk, which is far less cluttered, has plenty of space behind the monitor & keyboard (the computer itself sits on the floor, because my table is slighly too small to have it all on there, comfortably). I have even gone so far as to replace the small cardboard box similar to the one Shmogg liked to sleep in so that Suki can hang out with me on my computer desk if she wants.

But she doesn't, does she?

Every time I use my computer, she appears from wherever she was and has to do the 'circuit' between the kitchen counter, the window sill and the back of the lounge. Often several times each way.

And every single *&^%^*%$&$!!!! time she has to walk across the damn keyboard, often stopping to generously place her 'reading eye' directly on the keyboard so that she can meow at top decibel (as only a deaf cat can) to me to my face.

I've go so far as to replace my wonderful ergonomic keyboard with one of those silicone roll up spill proof catfur proof ones, which has slowed down the rate in which I used to go through keyboards (all suffer the same death - suffocation by cat *** fur) but it is still quite impossible to raid in World of Warcraft when there's a mind bogglingly dense cat between me, and both the monitor and the keyboard.

She's also discovered ome amazing key combinations that change things in Windows, ones that I never knew about. For example, Control-shift-A will mark all messages in a newsgroup read, which while useful if thats what you want to do, is greatly frustrating otherwise. Holding down the right-shift for 8 second will turn on 'filter keys' whatever that is. And if you if you press 'shift' five times in a row, you can have 'sticky keys', which comes as a bit of a surprise when one is about to down the last boss in Naxx. (Thats a big fight in World of Warcraft, for those of you who don't know, that involves 25 people who have to work together to get the job done. It doesn't go very well if one person suddenly stops doing what they ought to be doing to because their PC has suddenly switched from WoW to the desktop and needs to have 'sticky keys' undone before switching back)

Suki's favouite trick of all, though, is to just every so gently brush past the 'power' button on the keyboard, so delicately (and delicately being so out of character) that at first, I think I'm safe, so I don't do an emergency 'save all'. I continue doing what I'm doing and suddenly the world goes grey and the computer starts to shut down. Joel often feels great concern by my wails of anguish, especially if I'm working on some great spread*** for work and have forgotten to do an interim save in the last few hours. And they wonder why I can't work from home!

I'm sure there's a way to disable the power key using Windows software, but if there is, I've yet to find it. I thought I was ingenious by simply placing a beer bottle cap over it - it was the perfect height and diameter such that it just covered the button without sticking out and bothering the other buttons whilst being a tight enough fit that it didn't fall off if I moved the keyboard or was brushed by a passing cat fetlock. However, I very quickly discover that Suki's most very favourite ever toy for batting around is of course beer bottle caps, and putting said cap anywhere near my keyboard attracted her and her roving paws even more.
I've given up.

Despite having two perfectly good computers in the house, with one even going so far as to have a spill proof, cat fur proof silicone keyboard, Joel & I pretty much now share his computer. Its really only a matter of time, though, until Suki 'discovers' his keyboard too. I wonder if walking on keyboards is to cats what reflexology is to humans?

Yowie
--
Not sure what does the trick for little cat feet, though mine do seem to like it when I mess with their paws.

But I am quite sure that beer bottle caps are not involved in human reflexology. To the point I try to ban bottled beer from the house. Of course my favorite Dos Equis (Amber) only comes in a bottle but I'm careful to keep the cap in my hand until I put it in the trash..Men seem to believe that they are free agents and will find the trash if that is were life wants them to go

After several years of research, I have determined that they tend to wander about the house and yard.. Always sharp side up.

Am I am virtually barefoot

.

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