A Guide To Working At Home With Cats

I’m a work-at-home mom and although it offers many benefits, including the avoidance of the daily commute and interacting with annoying office colleagues, it CAN be lonely. And while you can keep in touch with those co-workers you do like via email, text and the occasional lunch out, it’s not quite the same as having daily personal interactions. If you can identify with me then it’s time to get a companion and do what I did, and get a cat!

Just last week we rescued a stray cat, that we’ve named Gracie. She has a very sweet temperament (almost lazy to the extreme, in fact) but something happens to her when I sit down at my office desk to work. She turns into a wild, crazed, attention-loving mouser.

We’ve had cats in the past but that was long before I worked from home. I never even thought about how much of a disruption a cat would be during the workday. It’s surprisingly worse than trying to work at home with the kids. Gracie demands my undivided attention, and she’s not afraid to get up on my desk to prove it. She is an office chair-stealing, keyboard-pawing, mouse biting bundle of fur.

It seems that the majority of cats love to step on keyboards and sit in their human’s lap while they desperately try to type out an email. They rub against monitors because they want you to pay attention to them, not the words on the screen. They play with your mouse cursor because it seems to taunt them. But, no worries, there are a things you can do to keep your fluffy creatures with you, without them impeding your work.

I stumbled upon this video that offers great advice from Cole and Marmalade, with tips on how to work at home with cats:

Gracie and I will find a way to coexist while at work. Taking some of the advice from the video, I’ve already made a bed for her near my workstation. That way she can sleep away the day, take a break to step on my keyboard or lap when she needs to, and then go back to sleeping. And despite the cat hair and demanding meowing, having cats around is good for you. Giving love and attention to a cat can actually lower your blood pressure and help you be calm, making great companions when working.

So, visit your local Humane Society and adopt a pet today. You never know, you could find a furry co-worker (I mean boss) you’ve always dreamed of having.