Never in the way
The cat appears on top of everything, but clicks and typing go straight through it. Keep working, or don't.
For Mac · lives in your menu bar
A tiny cat takes over your screen. Briefly.
Every so often a pixel-art cat wanders onto your desktop, does something ridiculous for under a minute, and leaves. Clicks pass straight through it, so your work is never blocked.
Download for Mac
Version 0.1.0 · macOS 13 or later · Apple silicon and Intel
Try it right here
This is the real thing: the same animations the app plays, running on a pretend desktop. Pick a distraction, or change the cat.
NotesFileEditView
Tue 9:41
Tue 9:41
Fourteen ways to lose a minute
The app picks one at random on your schedule. Switch off any you don't want.
Polite, for a cat
On your schedule
Anywhere from every minute to every four hours, with a little randomness if you like surprises. Pause for an hour or switch it off in one click.
Your cat
Seven coats, four eye colours, six collars, optional white paws and stripes. A live preview shows your cat as you choose.
Knows your windows
Two distractions use the sides of your open windows, one as a scratching post and one for climbing. The app reads window positions only, never what is in them.
Stays out of sight
No Dock icon and no window of its own. One small cat in the menu bar opens everything.
Private
No account, no sign-in, no analytics. The only thing the app ever fetches is a tiny file from this website, once a day, to see if there is a newer version. You can switch that off.
Install in three steps
- DownloadOne file works on every supported Mac, Apple silicon or Intel.
- Drag to ApplicationsOpen the disk image and drag Catstractions onto the Applications folder.
- Click the catOpen the app, then click the cat in your menu bar to set how often it visits.
First launch, for now: macOS will say it can't check this app. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and choose Open Anyway. You only do this once.
Needs macOS 13 (Ventura) or later.
Questions
Will it get in the way of what I'm doing?
No. The cat is drawn on top of your screen but ignores the mouse and keyboard entirely. You can click, drag and type through it.
Can I make it stop right now?
Yes. Click the cat in the menu bar and press Stop. The same panel has Pause for 1 Hour and a master on/off switch.
Can it see my screen?
No. For the scratching and climbing distractions it asks macOS where your windows are, which is positions and sizes only. It never reads their contents or titles, and nothing about your windows leaves your Mac.
How do updates work?
Once a day the app looks at this website to see whether a newer version is out. If there is one, the panel shows a notice with a button that brings you here to download it. Nothing installs by itself, nothing about you is sent, and you can turn the check off in the panel.
What about more than one display?
The cat appears on whichever display your pointer is on when the distraction starts.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac running macOS 13 (Ventura) or later, with either an Apple silicon or an Intel processor. It's a single download for both.
Is there a Windows or Linux version?
Not at the moment. Catstractions is Mac only.