Comments on: This Will Be Familiar to Cat Owners

By: Kerry

Kerry — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:50:10 +0000

Cartoon Coyote @ 31: I currently have the lever-type door handles for inside doors (bedrooms, etc.) and one of my cats has figured out how to use it. We shut him in one of the bedrooms one day and a few minutes later, he was coming down the stairs. It doesn’t work if we use one of the rooms where the door sticks because he can’t put his weight against the door at the same time, but we know we can’t lock him into that room any more.

By: Cartoon Coyote

Cartoon Coyote — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 21:49:26 +0000

I’m aware of only two cats throughout my life who were smart enough to figure out the purpose of a doorknob, and actually attempt to use it.

By: Barry

Barry — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:41:38 +0000

That was great! thanks

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:12:19 +0000

I remember this with cats. Sometimes they would just walk away the moment the door opened, which was always fun. Or in the summer, if one door to the outside was closed, that of course was the one the cat had to use. Also, the trick of going in one door and out another. Especially when the weather is nasty, since they seem convinced that if they just find the right door to go out the weather will be nice.

By: katster

katster — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:57:03 +0000

At our house, the dog gets in the act. So it goes something like this:

*faint meow from outside that only dog hears*
WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF
*person tries to figure out why dog is barking*

We’ve finally learned, if there’s no real reason for the barking, then the cat wants in.

Also, our cat is fond of the speedway — in the back door then immediately through the kitchen to the garage door. Because, you know, it’s a different world out that door…

-kat

By: Sherri

Sherri — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:43:49 +0000

All it’s missing is the immediate request to be let back out (even though there is now a gaping hole through which to escape).

I have a cat door, but still have to go through this since one cat (the small tortie) will guard it and not let the other (lumbering giant) through.

By: Dean

Dean — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:00:10 +0000

I am living this cartoon even as I am watching it.

By: Colin F

Colin F — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:17:10 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me how well trained some owners are by their pets! If you want your cats to come in and out at their leisure then get a cat flap fitted.

Also, we learned long ago to never allow the cats access to the bedrooms – as they start looking for breakfast any time after 5am. Ours get firmly shut downstairs overnight. They might complain the first time – but tough love is the answer!

By: Ilya Burlak

Ilya Burlak — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:35:27 +0000

Interestingly, I saw this same cartoon today at another blog that I read via my aggregator, exler.ru (in Russian). Alex, who writes it, is an admitted cat-person only slightly below Scalzi’s level of fervor. That leads me to believe that fervent cat-lovers have it wired in them to scour YouTube for new cat-related content :)

By: Chris D.

Chris D. — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:26:42 +0000

Hilarious. My cats are always on the wrong side of the door too. Our newest cat always wanted in when she slept on the porch. Now that she’s an inside cat she always wants to go outside.