1) The printer is really not that noisy. Even with the fan going, in a carpeted room, it's hard for me to hear the thing if I'm more than 15' away.
2) I have cats too. The problem isn't so much the cats climbing on the machine (they will, no big deal) as the cat fur that gets everywhere. I just cover it with a blanket to keep it down to a minimum. On the bright side, as soon as the thing is printing the cats flee the room in terror.