Photo Courtesy of Nurhan Yarci.

One day, a cat named Jazzy came across a puzzle. It was set up on the floor of someone's house and it had all the pieces in place. The puzzle was an interesting one with lots of different colors. But as soon as Jazzy saw it she knew what to do. She jumped right onto the table where the puzzle should have been sitting and started pawing at each piece trying to make sense out of them.

Why Do Cats Like To Interrupt You When You Puzzle?

Often, I see many people post about their pets either eating a puzzle piece or brazenly knocking their work-in-progress off of the table.  There is usually a smug grin on their face, and definitely no look of remorse.  But it seems that an inordinate amount of the pets that are the culprits are cats.

While I like cats, I admit that I have a slight fear of cats due to a Siamese cat in my childhood tormenting every human it encountered, so I do not have a cat but have several large dogs.  While dogs are known to chew pieces, cats simply like to push puzzle pieces off of the area, lay their bodies on the puzzle, and dare their owner to ignore them for one more second or it's quits for the puzzle.  

So why do these beautiful furry creatures like to torment us?  I believe that it has something to do with being left out of the process.  Afterall, who can pass a puzzle without wanting to help?

Many cat owners speculate that it is all a  matter of gaining attention.  Cats love to annoy humans, that is, they love to be the center of attention at all times.  It doesn't matter what you are doing, a cat should always be your center of attention.

Cats have a strong instinct to pounce.  Puzzles have some moving pieces so they make great play objects for a cat.  They are, essentially, irresistable.  

How To Keep A Cat Off Of The Puzzle

There are many suggestions on how to keep a cat off of a puzzle in progress.  The solutions are usually temporary and focused on preserving the puzzle that is currently on the table. 

Many avid puzzlers will place a plastic sheet on top of the puzzle.  Some will use towels on the top of the puzzle, while others roll their masterpieces up in a puzzle mat.  Which ever of these methods works for you, will probably not work for your cat.  I've heard of people using the tri-fold presentation boards for smaller puzzles so that they can be folded and moved without disturbing the pieces.

Everyone agrees that aluminum foil is a cats cryptonite.  Cats seem to steer clear of anything with aluminum foil, so placing a sheet over the puzzle just might save you a ton of time.

A wonderful suggestion includes a fitted sheet placed around the table that you are using to assemble a puzzle.  This idea sounds simple and time effective.

Whichever your choice to preserve your puzzle work in progress, it's always helpful to know that your cat loves you and will do anything for your attention, so just take a break, love your cat, and then puzzle on.

Show me your favorite photos of your cat "helping" with your puzzle.  I'd love to see how many cats can resist a good jigsaw puzzle.  I'm sure there aren't many...

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