Cat Door

Our dog Sammie and the new cat door

It's funny to see how different cats adapt to new situations.  Today I am talking about the addition of a new pet door between our breakfast room and the garage.   We put the little door in so the cats could easily go from inside the house into the garage where we began keeping their litter boxes and food bowls.

All of our cats handled it differently from the start.  Bing, "Mr. Adventure," figured out the door in one day.  In no time he was letting himself in and out as if he'd been using this new entryway forever. 

Next to figure it out was Mr. C, our old yellow barn tabby, however, his technique varied. He could go out to the garage with no problem.  Coming back in was a whole different issue. He would begin by sitting with his little Tabby face pressed against the semi-transparent plastic door peering inside. He would sit this way for several minutes meowing sadly while I coaxed him from the inside to join me. Finally he would shove his little apple head through the opening and the rest of him would follow.  

Charlie Brown, our huge, 17 pound Seal Pointe Siamese, was the third to figure out the new door.  Charlie Brown is really a big pussy, and I mean that both physically and emotionally.  He would stand at the door tapping at it with his paw and meowing softly as if to say "why won't this door open?"  After approximately five minutes of listening to him tap..tap..tapping at the plastic door he would eventually get it to move outwards an inch or so.  At this point he would shove his head through, look around to make sure nothing on the other side was going to get him and then pour his huge frame through the opening.

Jack Frost, the Snow Shoe, and the youngest of our cats, decided to handle entry and exit of the new cat door much like a line backer for an NFL football team.  He would take a stance about two feet from the door, lower his head and then charge forward at full speed knocking the little swinging door upwards with a loud clink and propelling himself onto the other side.  

Cleo, another Seal Pointe, and the queen of the house, was very happy at the beginning to stand at the little cat door staring at us and "mirting" a request for someone to come open the big door to let her highness in or out.  She was too much of a queen to actually go through the cat door herself!  Today she has finally decided that we may not always notice when she needs to do her business and has finally learned to open the door herself. She very quietly and lady- like glides through the door.  However,  once inside she often feels she must share her pleasure at figuring out the door on her own by standing and meowing at you until you acknowledge the great feat she has just performed.

Yes, every cat has its own personality and their own way of handling new things in their lives.  If I could teach them to run a can opener and scoop their own litter boxes we would have it made!

Have a Purrrable day

Nick