Protect your pets and your computer

Helpful hints to keep furry friends from injuring themselves

By Deena Waisberg

When Dr. Susan Krakauer turns on her laptop, a game of cat and mouse ensues. The Vancouver-based house-call veterinarian has a wily cat named Devi, who likes to lie on the computer mouse or bat it when Krakauer is trying to work.

"Dialogue boxes are always popping up on my screen," she sighs. Krakauer will pick up Devi and put him on the floor or on her lap, but two seconds later he's back at the computer. "He'll lie down and slowly stretch his arms out over the keyboard, just to test me," she laughs. "I have to keep putting him on the ground. This can go on for 15 minutes before he gets bored with the game."

Devi isn't the only feline who gets feisty around computers. Toronto-based Robin Burgoyne's cat named Notadog has pulled the phone cord out of the wall and disconnected Burgoyne from the Internet mid-session. "He also likes to scratch the chair I'm sitting on, because he knows it ticks me off," she says in frustration. Eventually Notadog will settle down on the window ledge by the computer.

Naturally, dogs have their own version of the computer game. When Toronto resident Paul Hawkins sits down at his computer, his standard poodle Georgie puts her snout under Hawkins' wrist and flips it off the keyboard. Then she paws his arm and starts to bark. He sometimes has to resort to shutting Georgie out of the room.

Looking for attention

Why all this fuss when pet owners start to work on the computer? In a word: attention. "Devi is an opportunist. He thinks the world revolves around him and sees no reason why he shouldn't squirm in to get my attention," explains Krakauer. "He knows I'm busy, but he really doesn't care," she adds.

Pets understand when something else (i.e. a computer) is receiving your attention and that doesn't thrill them. According to Dr. Alun Cooksley, a veterinarian with Calgary North Veterinary Hospital, cats are worse culprits than dogs. "Cats want to be the centre of attention; dogs are happy to sit by you."

This is exactly how Hawkins' second standard poodle, Melba, reacts. "She'll sit under the computer table when I'm working," says Hawkins. But no one told Georgie that's how she's supposed to behave. "She feels she should be getting pats," he explains.

A pet's perception of the computer

While pets don't understand what a computer is, they can become intrigued by movement on the screen. "I had a screen saver of mice moving at the office. One of the cats saw the pictures and started batting the screen," says Krakauer.

But beyond that, they don't harbour any feelings towards the computer. They're not jealous of it and they don't deliberately unplug you to prevent you from surfing. "It's more like I'm focusing my attention on the computer and Notadog thinks, 'Give me attention, instead,'" says Burgoyne.

Safe computer pet habits

Of course you've got to be careful when pets interact with computers. Accidents can happen — to both.

A friend of Krakauer's owned 14 cats and some of them used to lounge on the keyboard regularly. So much hair accumulated in the keyboard that it just stopped working. Pets can also pull down computer accessories that are not securely placed on a desk, destroying the equipment and potentially harming themselves.

Wires can also be a hazard, warns Cooksley. "Pets can chew through power cords and can get an electric shock. Puppies are the biggest chewers, so keep your wires tidy and hide them away," he advises. He suggests spraying your cords with Variton, which tastes bad and discourages the animal from chewing.

Since both pets and computers are here to stay, you might as well brace yourself for the most challenging computer game you'll ever play.