Cat Proof Power Button (How Can I Do This?)
If you have a cat that is constantly pressing your power button you may be becoming frustrated and angry. This may lead you to seek some reasons why and what you can do about it…
Cats are curious by nature and they watch you more than you think. Power buttons are often discovered that way or even simply by accident and the results are amusing to your cat. With a power button on a surge protector, for instance, there is a satisfying click when it’s pressed and several things suddenly turn off.
With a remote power button for your TV or stereo, it’s even more fun, as the click is replaced by a sudden silence and usually by your reaction of jumping up to turn it back on! Cats have a sense of humor, it seems, and power buttons are an easy way to make mischief and add a little levity to their day.
Finally, some cats just lie down on them, with the intent to get you to pet them instead of playing with that ‘odd thing’ and in those cases, the power is depressed simply by the weight placed upon it.
A black remote control on a gray surface.
Cats will mess with any power button that clicks, but there are certainly certain ones that we notice the most. It is important to note that your cat notices your reaction and this is quite likely why they hit the power button on ‘accident’ in the first place. Let’s look at the top power buttons that your cat will target regularly.
Cats know how much time you spend with your computer, probably down to the minute, and they are NOT amused. After all, that’s time that you could be spending with them, so it’s not uncommon for cats to move to your laptop keyboard the moment you get up to use the bathroom or grab a snack.
Sometimes they’ll type unintelligible sentences but on rare occasions, they’ll score big and hit your power button in the process. In most cases, that will simply put your computer to sleep, but if you don’t have that setting activated then you might want to set it to that.
Computers are warm and your cat knows that if they hit the right buttons, you’ll do something hilarious (at least from their point of view).
Cats sometimes give you a passive/aggressive protest by settling down on what is surely an uncomfortable bit of plastic in the form of your remote. The power button is usually in one of the top corners and sometimes larger than most, so it often gets pressed.
Don’t be angry, though, as it can be much worse – sometimes they’ll change modes or accidentally program something, so if they just shut off the power then you are getting off easy!
As cats seem to have a mission where your PC is concerned, it’s only natural to wonder if you can cat proof it a bit to thwart their intentions. Let’s take a look at a few strategies that can help with this.
Your Windows settings give you an option to disable the power button or to set your computer to go to sleep if it is depressed, and this is one way to limit the amount of damage that your cat can do.
They can still type sentences, of course, but this takes a lot less time to correct than having to wait for your system to wake up or completely restart.
Depending on how your button is designed, you might just be able to simply tape over it so that it is harder to depress. This can work, but keep in mind that you might end up with a bit of gluey residue on the button as a result of this classic hack.
A little better than the tape option, but utilizing the same ‘block it off’ strategy is to lay a flat object over the power button or even over the keyboard if you have a perfectly-sized clipboard handy. Most cats will still lay on this, though, so you need to up your game with some double-sided tape on it.
Cats HATE the feel of sticky tape on their paws and this will keep all but the most determined kitties from getting on your laptop. If your cat lays on it anyways, you are just about 100% to avoid a repeat of this behavior, simply by how long it will take to unstick your stubborn cat!
Lock the room door
A door handle with a key.
No access, no mischief, and while your cat might still hang around by the doorway and try to sneak by, for the most part, if you can remember to close the door then it’s a simple and effective way to keep your laptop isolated.
If you work from home, it’s the best way too, as those ‘kitty sentences’ won’t just turn off the power, but sometimes they’ll submit your work early or possibly even start a chat with a coworker or your boss by complete and random chance. Better to avoid this by simply closing the door and removing the temptation completely.
Cat proofing a remote is a little more tricky but it can certainly be done. Let’s review a few strategies for protecting your remote from the meddling of bored kitties!
Cover the remote in aluminum foil
Cats don’t like aluminum foil. It feels funny when they chew on it and with their heightened sense of smell, it smells a bit weird to them too.
You can take advantage of this by simply covering the power button with a little foil but be warned – some cats will still try to sit on that remote anyway and the thin foil might still let it power off.
Hide the remote control
Hide the remote away or better yet, get yourself a ‘remote boat’ to keep close. A remote boat is a pocket that is designed to hang off of the side of a couch or even your desk if your workspace is close to the TV.
This suspends the remotes vertically, making them virtually impossible to lie down on unless your cat has found a way to defy physics, and it also makes the remotes quite handy to fetch and use when you need them.
Lock the room door
As with your computer, the only 100% foolproof method for keeping a cat away from a remote is to lock them away from it. Closing your door doesn’t require buying fancy gizmos, applying the sticky tape, or spraying citrus scents to keep the cat at bay – it just effectively bars them from ANY access that works.
Sometimes the simplest solution is best, but if your cat is the type that will patiently meow at you through the door, then you might want to use one of the previous solutions instead. As with all strategies, ‘mileage may vary from cat to cat’.
