Understand What She Is Supervising
A cat who settles on your notebook is rarely being difficult. Your desk combines the things she values most: your sustained attention, a warm laptop, an elevated view, and objects that move interestingly, from your pen to the cursor. Any alternative you offer has to compete with that bundle, not just provide somewhere soft. A bed on the floor across the room fails because it offers none of the social part, and supervision, for her, is mostly social.
So the winning spot sits within arm's reach, at roughly desk height, with a sightline to you and ideally to a window. From there she can watch your hands, glance at the garden, and be stroked without either of you relocating. That closeness is the product; the cushion is just packaging.
Choose the Perch Style That Matches Her Habit
For a cat who alternates between watching you and watching the outside world, a clamp-on desk shelf or sturdy window perch beside the desk works best. Look for a platform wide enough for her to turn around and curl fully, rated well above her weight, because a perch that flexes under her makes her choose the solid desk instead. Suction-mounted window beds suit lighter cats and smooth glass; test the hold before trusting it over a hard floor.
For a cat who mainly sleeps through your workday, a low-sided bed in the desk's far corner is simpler and warmer. Low sides matter: she can rest her chin on the edge and keep you in view, which is the supervisory posture most desk cats adopt. A small raised stand on the desk, level with your screen base, suits the cat who insists on height above all.
Set It Up So the Desk Loses Its Appeal
Line her spot with a blanket that already smells of her, taken from a current sleeping place rather than washed fresh. Position it on the side of your non-dominant hand if possible, so reaching to stroke her does not cross your keyboard, and keep a small toy there for the restless moments before video calls. The first week, reward settling in the spot with a treat or quiet praise every time she chooses it herself.
When she steps onto the keyboard anyway, lift her to her perch without ceremony, every time. Scolding adds drama to the desk; boring consistency makes the perch the obvious choice. Close the laptop lid during breaks rather than leaving a warm, inviting surface unattended, and give her a cardboard box beside the desk as an overflow option on days when the perch is inexplicably wrong, as some days it will be.
Mind Heat, Cables, and Screen Safety
Desk setups carry small hazards worth arranging once. Keep her bed away from radiators or desk heaters, since a cat will tolerate more warmth than is good for her when the spot is socially perfect. Route charging cables behind the desk so a dangling lead does not become a toy that pulls equipment down. If she bats at the cursor, a screen at arm's length from her perch reduces paw contact without exiling her.
Check fixings monthly. Clamps loosen, suction cups age, and a perch that drops once, even without injury, is a perch she may never trust again.
Keep the Arrangement Stable for Everyone
Cats supervise best in a home office that does not rearrange itself. If your partner or housemate also works at the desk, the perch, blanket, and relocation routine should stay identical whoever is sitting there, or she will re-litigate the keyboard question with each new person. Noting her preferred spot, its position, and the settle routine in her profile through KinsLe's Family Sharing keeps that arrangement shared, so her workstation survives your day off exactly as she left it.