I love my cats, but if you leave them alone in the studio, it will be destroyed in less than a day. Even if they have complete in and out access, it is amazing how much “trouble” they can get into.

A pile of very neatly stacked papers (receipts, old scripts) waiting to be filed is the perfect spot for a cat nap and then, when the nap is over, the pile is suddenly strewn across the floor.

The strategically balanced pyramid of new office supplies on the side table clatter to the floor as the other cat tries to jump from the table to the top of the file cabinet. A role of paper towels becomes a toy and is shredded.

The spot directly in front of the keyboard is a favorite place for my big cat to curl up and “make muffins” on my mid-section as I try to do some bookkeeping. I have to wrap my forearms completely around him in order to keep working which just encourages him to continue to poke his sharp claws into my rib cage. This leads to work stoppage as I find the clippers and trim those nails!

The fax machine and printer are monstrous robots that must be set in their place – leaving the modem askew, the wireless hub on the floor and the printer covered in cat hair.

Any small space – a cubby hole, a box, the back of the machine rack – is a heavenly hiding place – which also adds to the work when it is time to clean the studio.

And, of course, a sleeping cat suddenly wakens the moment you hit the record button and starts to talk – and talk and talk – and in order to actually get a clean take the cat must be gently escorted out of the studio. Noisy critters! Even when they purr.

I recorded a few years ago in a large home studio usually used for music production (and by home studio I mean the whole home was turned into a studio) and the voiceover area was one room with the engineer and his computers, a leather couch with the clients, the microphone with the talent and a very large purring cat.

You would have thought that the computer fans and the sound of the client’s leather jacket rubbing on the leather couch would have been the sound issue, but no – it was the purring cat.

But, when they are quiet and relatively well behaved – cats are quite decorative and having pets in the studio is one of the perks of working at home. I wouldn’t have it any other way.