We may not be smarter, but we have opposable thumbs
Our cats are smarter than the average feline. Sure, most pet owners say that about their animals, but ours have figured out how to hook a claw under the cat door when the latch is set on “in only” to pull it open. They’ve also learned how to trip the latch when it’s completely locked so they can go in and out as they please. And if we cover the door with tape to thwart them while we’re on vacation, they understand that the only thing between them and freedom is some flimsy packing tape. No problem. Just remove it!
All of this has been mildly frustrating, especially since we like to exercise some control over when they are allowed to go outside. We hadn’t really made up our minds, though, to do anything about it yet.
Then Saturday morning arrived…
At 4 a.m. Bentley burst through the door and proceeded to growl at something in the kitchen. I got up, wondering what might have him in a dither. Surprise! Surprise! I found the cat door unlatched and a bear-sized raccoon peering in at me. I hastily latched the door and resolved to “fix” the situation.
This is where the story gets somewhat surreal. Picture Nick and me standing in the lock aisle of the local hardware store on Saturday afternoon discussing the relative cat-proofness of one locking device over another. “No, the cats could get a paw under that one and just unlatch it.” “This deadbolt might be harder to undo, but it’s only a two step process to unlatch it. They’d figure it out eventually.” “What about a combination lock?” “As long as they never learned the combination, we’d be fine.”
We settled on a “safety hook” - the only easy to install device requiring two hands to operate. We may not be smarter than them, but at least we have opposable thumbs.
Comments:
My stupid cat thinks that pawing repeatedly on the sliding glass door causes it to open. Because after a few minutes of that, I can’t take it any longer and open it for her to lay on her patio.
I know your cats, and I’m betting on them.
You’ll be the first to know if it doesn’t work. Our fall-back option is to install a sliding wooden panel that would cover the door and lock entirely.
Call us dumb, but the little wooden block glued to the door is the perfect thing to hook a claw into, making the door that much easier to open when it isn’t completely latched! Grrr!
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