> Seems like a poor safety feature to have it also turn on when you're cleaning.
Right, that's bad design.
The cooktop I'm familiar with always turns off and beeps if something (metal pots or a liquid) covers a part of the button area.
To turn it on, you have to press two different buttons within a certain time limit, with a pot standing on the appropriate cooking zone. Most cats probably won't manage to do that.
> The only dumber idea I can think of is a touch screen
Oh, don't get me started. We own an oven with a touch screen. It's pure idiocy. But the cooktop is actually very good IMO.