Ziggy isn’t your average cat — she’s a world-class cuddler with a serious lap obsession.
The 10-year-old feline was adopted three years ago by Rebecca May and her husband from a London shelter, along with her more independent sister, Harley. While Ziggy can be shy at first, once she warms up, she becomes completely devoted. And by “devoted,” we mean glued to her humans.
“When she bonds with someone, it's just really intense,” May told The Dodo. “She absolutely has to be sat on you.”
Ziggy doesn’t wait for an invitation. The second one of her humans so much as leans toward the couch, she’s already in launch mode. “Her ears go flat and her eyes go black when she thinks you're about to sit,” May said. “It's almost like your lap is a target.”
And if no lap is available? She improvises — perching on shoulders, balancing on arms, even claiming your back if you're lying down. Ziggy simply has to be close.
When May and her husband began working from home more frequently, Ziggy was overjoyed — until she realized that laptops and keyboards were getting more attention than she was. Even placing a cozy cat bed on the desk wasn’t enough. Ziggy needed warmth, comfort, and contact.
That’s when May’s husband had a hilariously brilliant idea: if Ziggy wouldn’t leave their laps alone, why not build a spare?
He stuffed a pair of lounge pants with soft filling to mimic legs, tucked a heating pad inside to keep it warm, added shoes for flair, and topped it off with a pillow as a “torso.” The result? A cozy, lap-shaped decoy — and Ziggy loved it.
“She climbed right on and stayed there for four hours,” May said. “He thought it would just be a funny experiment — I don't think he expected it to actually work.”
Ziggy’s sister Harley gave it a skeptical glance and walked away, but Ziggy curled right up and didn’t budge.
May shared a photo of the decoy setup on Reddit with the caption: “Our cat has become SUPER clingy now that we both work from home. We had to improvise.” The post quickly went viral, and fellow cat parents praised the ingenuity — some even said they’d try the same trick.
As great as the fake lap is, Ziggy still prefers the real deal when it’s available.
“I think the trousers are a bit too scary to keep up all the time,” May said, laughing. “But we’ll definitely bring them out again on a busy day of meetings!”
Because when it comes to working from home with a clingy cat, sometimes you have to think outside the (litter) box.
