Cats Sit on Paper

Dear Amy, Each time I sit down to read the newspaper or a book, my cat Truffles plants her furry behind right on the page. It’s so annoying. It happens when I sit at the kitchen table and spread the funny pages out, and makes it impossible to turn the pages. In the evening, when I want to relax while reading a chapter of my library book, she gets up onto my lap and lies across the pages. When my husband, Gerald, left a paper napkin on the carpet, Truffles had to perch right on top of that, too! Why does my cat insist on using reading material as a tushy cushion?

While it’s fun to imagine that cats “read” literature by absorbing the text through their nether regions, Truffles and other felines have other reasons for this paper-perching behavior. Cats not only like to be the center of attention, they also seek out the “top” position in any environment. This behavior is most obviously apparent when cats turn the top of the refrigerator or cat tree into second-storey real estate. When Truffles walks across the carpet or leaps to the tabletop, she also seeks out the most elevated areas, which happen to be where you’ve left the newspaper beside your easy chair, or even the placemat on the table.

The other issue likely has to do with finding the best place to be close to you and have your complete, undivided attention. Cats learn quickly that humans tend to plant themselves and stay in place for the longest periods of time when reading a book or newspaper. So lounging on top of the book in your lap or the newspaper on the table ensures Truffles has your adoring gaze aimed her way.

Amy D. Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant and the award-winning author of more than 20 nonfiction books about cat care and behavior.