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08 December 2009

Is it weirdly paranoid to wonder if the cat being on my lap is somehow making my trackpad cursor for my laptop go nuts? [More:]The cursor is jumping all over the screen, and I'm wondering if it may have something to do with static from the cat's fur? The heat is also on, and the vent is right above where I sit on the couch, so we're being blasted with fairly dry heat, as well.

Anyone?
Not paranoid, no. A little odd, though, I'll admit.

As to the probability of that actually being the cause, your guess is as good as mine. I'd say experiment by placing the cat somewhere else and seeing what the laptop does, but hey, free lap-warmer, I wouldn't want to give that up.
posted by CitrusFreak12 08 December | 00:42
I chased her off my lap and the cursor went back to normal, but now she's back on my lap and the cursor is still normal. But now the heat is not currently on. So maybe it's cat plus heat plus laptop?

I don't know. I can't tell if this is all a major case of confirmation bias or not.
posted by occhiblu 08 December | 01:26
Or I guess it could just be the heat, and have nothing to do with the cat.
posted by occhiblu 08 December | 01:28
Sure it wasn't a strand of cat fur on the pad? Since our house is uniformly covered in a fine layer of cat fluff, I get that a lot.
posted by octothorpe 08 December | 09:22
OH HAI. YOU FOUNDS OUT I HAZ MAGIC! FOOD TIMES?
posted by Lipstick Thespian 08 December | 10:16
FOOD TIMES OR BACK INTO THE ZE CORN FIELD!
posted by The Whelk 08 December | 10:20
During a recent bout of bronchitis, my cat found a cough drop in its wrapper laying by my wife's side of the bed, carried it into the living room where I was, and dropped it next to the couch.

Several days later, with me still hacking, the cat found another cough drop, unwrapped it, and dropped it next to me.

So to answer your question: cats are supernatural. Anything is possible.
posted by Joe Beese 08 December | 10:23
I had my cat BRING ME A CIGARETTE. From OUTSIDE. I'm still amazed that actually happened and I didn't just wish it into a memory.
posted by The Whelk 08 December | 11:05
Your cat is an enabler, The Whelk!
posted by amro 08 December | 11:14
A friend just posted this cat-related comment this morning on Twitter:

Our cat is decidedly not a good post-it delivery system. And not that happy about the whole 'experiment' thing anyway.
posted by BoringPostcards 08 December | 11:26
Hmmm. Cat is on my lap again, heat is on again, cursor is fine.

I'm just going to go along with y'all that she was showing off her spooky magicks and leave it at that.
posted by occhiblu 08 December | 12:54
Your cat may be emitting an EMP.

Indeed, I think most cats can do this. It explains how I lose track of time when I'm scrooching, scrooching, schrooching their bellies.
posted by Elsa 08 December | 13:02
Would any recent house guests have fed your cat magnets? Because that could be one explanation.

Unrelated cat anecdote: I had one clean pair of socks this morning. One. They were laying on the bed as I was getting ready for work. Also while I was getting ready for work, the big cat puked right near the foot of the bed. So one of the little cats, most certainly trying to be helpful, went to work covering up the mess.

With my clean socks.

The little shit.
posted by mudpuppie 08 December | 13:26
Magnetized kitty!

I'm sorry about your socks. Which I just typed as "sucks". So I'm sorry about your sucks as well.
posted by occhiblu 08 December | 13:52
~7~ || Caption needed

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