Mary Allen
As soon as you close a door in your home, is your kitty meowing in front of it? This is not unusual behavior: many cats hate closed doors. The reasons for this have a lot to do with the nature and instincts of the cats. Your animal world enlightens.
“If there’s one thing we know about cats, it’s that they don’t like being told what to do,” veterinarian Gabby Wild told Popsugar magazine. “So when we close a door on them, they naturally want access to what they perceive to be their territory, or they want to explore the unknown.”
After all, our cat’s ancestors had a distinctive territorial behavior: In order to protect themselves from danger, they had to know and scout out their territory exactly. Even today, many house cats instinctively show a similar behavior – even if they no longer have to find food or shelter today: they are still eager to discover.
In addition, there may be other reasons your puss dislikes locked doors. According to “Cat Health” magazine, these are:
- Noises or smells that your cat can detect behind the door and that it wants to reach;
- She wants to know exactly what you or the other two-legged friends are doing in the house;
- Pure curiosity.
This is How You Can Tell If Cats Don’t Like Closed Doors
Most of the time, it’s pretty easy to find out if your cat doesn’t like a closed-door and wants to be let in. Then she meows loudly, for example, or scratches the door with her paw. Your cat can also show you to open the door by stroking your legs, getting you to stroke her, and then leading you to the door.
But be careful: sometimes cats also abuse doors as scratching posts, for example, because they like the surface structure – to the chagrin of their people. Then you should make sure that there is a real scratching post as a suitable alternative.
It can also help to make your home as varied as possible for your cat. If there is a lot to discover in general, closed doors for cats are no longer that exciting. For example, set up small hiding spots or lookouts, for example at the window. Every now and then, hide toys or treats. Or don’t clear away empty cardboard boxes right away so your kitty can play with them.