Attn: cat Re: Door opening skills

[Mama2Jesse]

Dear cat:
I am pleased you learned to open doors as a kitten. This makes life simpler, as you can get your own toys, choose a different litterbox if I've shut a door, and generally made you capable of entertaining yourself.

But, for the love of all that is holy, stop opening the bedroom door while baby naps, going in, and yowling until he wakes. I love you, but when you wake him four hours early and keep interupting his nap, I seriously want to turn you into a small furry throw rug.

I know you are of a vocal breed. I know you enjoy the child's company. But you KNOW BETTER. I see you headed for that door, telll you no and run to head you off; you move faster to open the darn door. I slip in after you, you flatten your ears and try to run past me so I cannot catch and scold you.


You make me want a dog.

I am your owner. Buyer of foods, toys, and litter. Supplier of healthcare.

SO STOP WAKING MY BABY.

[Halfasianmomma]

Hehe, would you be adverse to buying a little spray bottle? Then perhaps you can see if the spray is faster than the kitty...

[Mama2Jesse]

You know what happens when I spray him?
He glares at me. Slits his eyes and flattens his ears.

Then goes about his merry little way. Possibly pees on something of mine to make a point.


Blasted bengal. He loves water, loves to swim. It's the principle of me telling him what to do that cheeses him off.

His "girlfriend" at least runs TO the spray bottle for a drink from it. Him, no deterrent at all.

He is not a pet, I swear. He is an animal who graces me with his presence and thinks himself at least equal to us flat-toothed two-leggers. If he could scratch his own chin just right, he'd have no need of humans at all.

I had a shake can for a time. He bit holes in it and grumbled at me when I used it. All I can do is scruff and scold, and he understands very goshdarn well when he is doing something I don't like. He just doesn't care.


Blah.

[phatchristy]

Sounds like you've got a super smart one!

[zech13_9_goforgold]

I belive your cat's response to your letter would look something like this:

Dear owner,
You feed me, buy me toys, and clean my litter out of reference for me. I am god. You serve me because you should. Get over it.
-your cat

I, though, as a fellow human and cat ower, completely understand your frustration. My cat can fit under our doors, so he does it whenever he wants, especially if we don't want him to. I feel your pain. I do wish that he wasn't so onery.

[kittymoose]

Is there any way you could baby-(cat)-proof the door? Maybe with a little latch that wouldn't let the door open enough for the cat to get in? You could also try spraying No Scratch on the door. The stuff I have is made with garlic and clove oil, and while scentless to me, apparently really deterrs cats.

[Minky]

We cat-proofed our toddler's room by adding a simple lock on the outside that was too high for the cats to reach. However, we weren't using this solution while he was sleeping, just while we were out of the house because one kitty liked to pee on the toddler bed. Which was barely used because we were cosleeping, but I digress.

I'd never lock a child into a room if they were walking, but if baby's too small to get to the door, is there any harm?

[mrsteapot]

I'm going to guess you have lever type door knobs? Could you replace the one on the door in question with a regular knob and a baby proofer thing?

And as frustrating as it is, aren't they awesome? cats like that?

[GearGirl]

OOOh, I love bad kitties. What a doll.

I agree with the lever door knob thing though, replace that! We might be replacing our front door lever as the obese but adorable chocolate lab down the street comes over whenever she pleases. OK, I do love that she comes over :.

[Caneel]

Originally Posted by Mama2Jesse

You know what happens when I spray him?
He glares at me. Slits his eyes and flattens his ears.

Then goes about his merry little way. Possibly pees on something of mine to make a point.


Blasted bengal. He loves water, loves to swim. It's the principle of me telling him what to do that cheeses him off.

His "girlfriend" at least runs TO the spray bottle for a drink from it. Him, no deterrent at all.

He is not a pet, I swear. He is an animal who graces me with his presence and thinks himself at least equal to us flat-toothed two-leggers. If he could scratch his own chin just right, he'd have no need of humans at all.

I had a shake can for a time. He bit holes in it and grumbled at me when I used it. All I can do is scruff and scold, and he understands very goshdarn well when he is doing something I don't like. He just doesn't care.


Blah.

OP - when I read your first post, I assumed you had a Siamese. The first post and this post remind me sooo much of our male Siamese. (Note to self - file bengal away for possible future cat )

The stories I could tell!

Our male is naughty, so very very naughty and very very vocal. He is now 16 years old and has slowed somewhat but is still a crazed animal 25% of the time, down from 110% in his younger years.

We had to put child proof locks on our kitchen cabinets years before we had kids. I would lay in bed at night and hear the repeated bang, bang, bang as he tried to disable the locks.

The female would play innocent but as soon as we turned out backs, she was totally his partner in crime.

A seperate lock on the baby's door solves only the breaking and entering.
Will he scream outside the door if he can't get in? Mine would, sigh, BTDT.

While a lock at night might be somewhat of a concern, you could always get a lightweight hook & eye that you could break with just a shove against the door in the even of fire or emergency. Or a screen door, that is what my cousin did to keep her cats out of the nursery.

Is there anything undesirable you could put in front of the baby's door like aluminum foil (my cats loved it, I think they liked the reflection, but some HATE it) or a fan blowing out towards the cats?

Fans are one thing that our male dislikes and will avoid at all costs.

Orange oil also displeases him although I don't know how practical it would be to put essential orange oil outside a baby's room.

If nothing else, turnabout will be fair play when you little on is old enough to engage in active play. Right around 3 yo, our DS finally noticed/cared about the cats. DS gives the male enough love and attention that he actually gets sick of the attention and relaxes on his own.