Pet-Proofing Your Computer

Pets don’t understand why we spend so much time at the computer, but they sure can be curious. Whether they are attracted to the heat, screen images or dangly bits, pets may be coming for your desk and you need to be ready. Here are some ideas for pet-proofing your tech.

pet-proofing your tech

Cable Management

If you have a computer setup with lots of cables, you may find your pets need to taste every long stringy thing they see. You’ll need to protect those cables from sharp teeth. Cables Sleeves may help with this. A cable sleeve may be made of mesh or thick PVC, and usually allow for you to bunch up and protect several cables in one “tube.”

Protecting the cables is fine, but those cables likely lead to a surge protector. That might be the next item you need to safeguard. Check out Cable Management Boxes as your next tool, available at a wide variety of stores. You can plunk your surge protector inside one of these, route your power cords into it and close the lid. If your pet is extra-persnickety, you may have to tape or bungee the box shut.

And Velcro Cable Ties are useful, for keeping cables away from your pets, and just in general. If you’re tidying an office, you’re sure to find a use for these somewhere!

Keyboard Stroke Prevention

Maybe your pet has moved past biting cables, and wants to type, as you do. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but you still don’t want your beastie to press keys and cause a catastrophe. Before you walk away from your system, you could remember to close your lid, or press WIN + L to lock your screen.

But also consider that they make Keyboard Bridge Protectors, specifically for this scenario. A clever piece of acrylic will prevent any paws from walking across your keyboard. And you can continue to type underneath of it! Once you see these, you may feel handy enough to make something of your own that offers similar protection.

Miscellany

Here are some other brief ideas to reduce conflict between your pets and your tech:

  • Go wireless wherever possible. Ditch that wired keyboard and mouse, and buy a nice wireless combo set. Make your next desktop computer an All-in-One and watch your cable count drop to near-zero.
  • Keep drinks away from your computer desk. You may be perfectly reliable, and might never knock it over. But what about if a pet zooms in and jumps upon your work area or barges up against your table? You may not have the lightning-quick reflexes needed to prevent your computer from getting doused…
  • Your laptop screen cannot take a lot of weight on it before the video panel breaks. Don’t let a weighty pet sit on or stand on a closed laptop.

Got other clever tricks to protect your computer against adventurous pets? Please comment below or send me an email and share your genius ideas!

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