Has anyone else tried to play Ars Magica when their cat is trying to help? How do you politely tell your kitty to not help.
I have a cat that likes to sit in the middle of the table.
Does your cat have might? If not, Circle of Beast Warding (ReAn 5) should be doable spontaneously even if you haven't learnt the spell.
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If your cat is also you familiar then it has a lot to do. It has to attend the cat meetings, perform twice a day the different wards that keep us all safe. If it is sitting on the table all the time, it is probably your fault for not empowering him enough to keep himself in good standing in the community and is now being mocked by his peers.
See RoP:M p.70 The Magical Lineages of Cats
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You might try 'clicker' or positive reinforcement training. Some helpful links to get started:
A sitting box with catnip and some treats?
All cats are psychic* and thus have Second Sight. What is it guarding your game from?
*and many display psychotic tendencies.
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I have played a scenario at the convention Grand Tribunal where we were all cats. The humans were all too busy to notice strange shadowy things threatening the covenant but the cats did their best to chase off the monsters and make the humans notice.
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Funny real life story. When we installed security cameras, we discovered that 3 cats run the parameter of the house every day. Really feels like a warding effect 
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Black Lineage
The Black Lineage of cats is descended from the Founder Jerbiton’s familiar, a prince of the Egyptian cats, descended from the great queens of ancient Bubastis. The center of the Black Lineage is the domus magna of Jerbiton, Valnastium in the Tribunal of the Greater Alps, where their elected monarch reigns.The Black Cats that serve House Jerbiton have a group of powers that they use to defend a home, or even a small settlement, from minor faeries and demons. Each cat is likely to have only one of these abilities, so groups of cats, each with a separate ability, will often walk the bounds of their settlement to lay multiple protective barriers. Some of these powers are also found in the other lineages, but the Black habit of marching in procession around the border of a protected space is not found in the other lineages. The Black Lineage is also most likely to use Warder’s Walk, a Power that allows for wards of greater Magnitude.
White Lineage
The White Lineage is descended from the familiar of the Founder Mercere, and its members are found in his House’s covenants.
Tortoiseshell Lineage
This lineage of cats has been associated with Celtic spellcasters since before the formation of the Order. This lineage split into two groups following the Schism War, with a king of cats in both Scotland and the Rhineland. It may have had links to House Diedne. This lineage is most known for its capacity to predict the future.
Again... I think you might want to read the RoP:M p.70+ all about cats
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That seems to have an interesting difference in meaning when using "parameter" rather than "perimeter".
You expect a house to have more than one parameter.
What sort of computing simulation are the cats making with the House parameters?
I feel I could says something Quantum Mechanics related, and how the cat on the table represents the indeterminacy of the PCs' survival.
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