Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

I cannot type

Use Disable guard with mouse, the tray menu, or close CatX. Full fallback steps are on Safety and recovery.

If a shortcut is unreliable, hold the modifier keys before the final key. Check whether your laptop requires Fn, or choose Ctrl + Alt + K. Keyboard remappers and other hotkey utilities may reserve combinations.

The cats do not appear

• Select at least one name under Choose your cats.
• Enable the keyboard guard.
• Check the monitor where the cursor was when protection started.
• To change monitors, disable the guard, move the cursor, and enable it again.

I can only choose one cat

Hold Ctrl while clicking each additional name. An ordinary click replaces the selection. You can choose up to eight cats.

The cat list stays open

The list deliberately stays open while selecting names. Click its arrow again, click outside it, or press Escape to close it. If an older build will not stay closed, update to the latest release.

A cat is sleeping or ignoring the mouse

Naps and pauses are normal. Cats reserve separate nap spots and sleep for about 30–45 seconds. Quick cursor direction changes can wake a cat when Chase playful cursor is enabled.

Check Toy mouse visits for mouse activity. Allow time for a new trip; not every cat joins every chase.

The guard turns itself back on

Set Auto-lock after no activity to Off for manual activation. With a delay selected, protection returns after that full period without keyboard or mouse activity.

CatX disappeared when minimized

Find the cat icon in the Windows notification area, including the hidden-icons menu. Double-click it to reopen CatX.

CatX will not start

Confirm Windows 11 x64, extract the full portable ZIP if using it, or reinstall from the official release. See Installation for unsigned-build and SmartScreen information.

Preferences are incorrect or keep resetting

Preferences live in %LOCALAPPDATA%\CatX\settings.json. An invalid or inaccessible file causes CatX to use defaults.

To reset: exit CatX, rename that file to settings.backup.json, and reopen CatX. This preserves a backup while CatX creates fresh settings.

Report a problem

Open a GitHub issue with the CatX version, Windows version, keyboard layout, chosen shortcut, monitor setup, and exact steps. For visual issues, include a screenshot with private information removed.

See the repository's security policy for security reports.