CatClawedCode

CatClawedCode: a tiny fix for laptop-walking cats

One of the craziest, funniest parts of working from home is the pets who insist on being part of the work. Anybody with cats and a laptop knows the deal: they fuss around you, then stroll across the keyboard or just park themselves on it while you’re trying to work.

I found out the hard way. I was in the middle of an AI session writing code when a cat walked the keys. The model freaked out, and I lost a chunk of work (~20 minutes). That was enough. I built CatClawedCode (aka CatLock) for me and my setup — and I’m tossing it up here in case it saves somebody else from the same Cat-Tastrophe. (yup... I'll be here all week)

What it does

Hold a key combo and the laptop keyboard is locked out of the OS immediately. Screens stay up. Trackpad and mouse still work. Hold the same combo again when the pet-coast is clear and the keys come back. Short, small, simple. KISS. (Keep It Simple S....)

Because it hooks the keyboard at the evdev level and only grabs that one device, an external USB keyboard still works if you want to keep typing while the built-in keys are “cat-proofed.”

A little about the build

I run Omarchy Linux (Arch + Hyprland). The tool is Python (python-evdev + uinput), so adapting it to other Linux boxes should be quick and painless. It hasn’t been tested outside Omarchy, but the mechanism is just kernel input, not a compositor trick.

Code, install script, config, and the usual “read this before you trust a daemon that grabs your keyboard” notes live here:

https://github.com/antonizick/catclawedcode

If your cats treat your laptop like furniture, this might buy you a little peace.