If you are a fellow cat parent, then you’re probably familiar with cats’ weird obsession with screens. I don’t know if it’s because the screens are shiny, compelling, and warm, or because they “contain” other animals inside – our fluffy friends simply adore them!
This little obsession of theirs is nothing out of the ordinary, really. Or at least nothing we should be concerned about.
Out of all the peculiar behaviors they have, like staring at the ceiling, munching on toilet paper, or being mesmerized by a regular hair tie (and stealing it from you), their love for all types of screens is to some degree even understandable.
I know my fluffs love it! Each time I position myself on my living room couch, ready to rewatch The Office for God only knows the how-many-eth time, I would end up watching my three kitties being entranced by the characters on the screen.
Their little heads go from left to right, from up to down, as though they are watching the most compelling tennis match ever. No wonder watching them has become my new favorite TV show. 10 out of 10, would recommend!
Or whenever I sit down at my desk to do some work on my laptop, one of my fluffs (if not all three of them!) would climb on me or my desk, and place their little paws on my laptop, or hunt my fingers while I’m hastily typing something.
So, yes! All three of them LOVE screens, but I think they prefer the screen laptop the most. I don’t know, I guess it is because the laptop is more accessible to them. All I know is I should be thanking the universe they don’t cause any trouble each time they sit on the keyboard or press a key or two while playing.
However, Jessica Schleider can’t relate to this, since her kitty Mochi actually did something that significantly impacted Jessica’s life. It was no horrendous trouble, in case you were wondering. Or something like an accidental email to an ex you don’t want to talk to.
It was, in fact, more like a happy (and very fortunate) accident.
How did Mochi change the course of Jessica’s history (or something like that)?
If the feline obsession with screens had an honorable representative, it would definitely be Mochi. This very special kitty from New York has been enchanted by laptops since kittenhood.
Ever since she learned to fearlessly climb on top of everything, she has been positioning herself between her mom and her mom’s laptop. She had been captivated by it from the first moment she saw it and wanted to spend every second of her little furry existence close to it.
So now you may wonder: What did Mochi do that could have that big of an impact on her owner’s life?
Well, here’s the story.
Jessica was working as an assistant professor of psychology at Stony Brook University in New York. To ensure she could continue the research necessary for her dissertation, she needed to apply for funding.
The funding was for $100,000 – a lot of money, right?! So, she’d been postponing the submission until she was absolutely sure it was ready. Understandably, she was extremely nervous about the grant application.
One day, as she was preparing everything for it, she thought it would be a good thing to step outside a bit to clear her head before she finally bit the bullet and hit “send.”
So, she got ready, and went out for a walk with her dog, leaving Mochi alone in the house.
Upon her return home, she checked her laptop, only to find that something unusual had happened. I can envision her finding a couple of telltale cat hair strands on her keyboard, before concluding that Mochi had once again taken a nap on her favorite spot.
She saw that Mochi had opened several websites while she was lying on her laptop. But the thing that came as the biggest surprise was when Jessica noticed that her furball had submitted her application.
Jessica said she almost had a minor panic attack. And I totally get it – I would have felt the same if I were her! But the application was submitted. The deed was done. And there was basically nothing Jessica could have done about it.
Well, surprise, surprise! Jessica got the result seven days later and… Well, Mochi’s mischief and weird laptop obsession had paid off! Jessica had won her grant, which meant that she could continue writing her dissertation.
Should you lean on your good fortune fairies or actually be more careful?
Well, if you ask me – a serious overthinker – I would undoubtedly advise you to be more careful. In my opinion, Jessica’s story could have ended very badly. She was just lucky enough that it didn’t.
I don’t think you should leave your laptop open and turned on for your fluffs to explore. You never know what might happen. They might just send that awkward email to your ex-boss, or worse yet, cause damage to your precious laptop.
So, just be careful what you leave accessible to your furballs. You might not be as fortunate as Jessica was. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
