I ph34r my cat.

[camwyn]

I've seen my cat Shula attempt to unlock the door before. He sits on his hind legs and bats at the doorknob, giving every impression of attempting to swat the little knoblet in the middle that controls the lock. I have generally ignored this, as there are three locks on that door and he'd have to get the deadbolt next to get them all open even if he did figure out how to work the doorknob.

However.

A while ago I bought a DVD player for someone via Amazon and it was delivered to my place by mistake. The box sits next to my apartment door. Last week I put the cat carrier on top of that box, because I had brought the cats back in after boarding them safely out of the exterminators' way. This night just past I heard a RATTLErattleRATTLErattle noise from the direction of the door and went to see.

Shula had climbed up on top of the cat carrier and was furiously batting at the chain lock on the topmost part of the door.

I'd worry about him more, except that he's clearly not bright enough to realise that the deadbolt is his major obstacle. He's a cat. He hasn't got a collarbone. He can fit through any opening that'll admit his head. The way I figure it, if he can figure out how to undo the knob and the deadbolt locks and turn the knob and pull, he'll get the door open enough, chain or no.

And frankly? If the cat figures out how to do all that, he deserves to get out. I'll have some tuna waiting for him when he gets back.

Comments

We could probably give them thumbs, but we'd likely get in trouble with the other animals for that.

[aberrantangels]

Our cat Phantom, who died last August, figured out the knob to our back door in Mississippi, at least to the extent that when he wanted to go out, he'd hop up on the fireplace bricks, where our stack of old newspapers often put his paws within reach of the knob, and balance himself thereby until we let him out. Sadly, in neither of the apartments here in Chambersburg, nor in the current townhouse, was there anything to stand on that put him within reach of the doorknobs. 8-(

Re: We could probably give them thumbs, but we'd likely get in trouble with the other animals for th

[camwyn]

A friend of mine once owned a part-Siamese, part-Persian that figured out how to unlock the door and use his body mass to turn the knob and yank the door open (the knob was old and the cat fairly massive). I'm not sure whether to encourage this sort of creative problem solving or not; this is the cat who regularly plays Does Gravity Still Work by walking up to stuff on my desk, pushing it off with one paw, and then looking expectantly at me until I put it back so he can push it over again. It's fascinating to see, but letting him get too far along in this sort of thing could get me in trouble with the Uplift Institute.

[trinityday.livejournal.com]

Your cat rocks.

[whobunkyboo.livejournal.com]

My cat knows how to work the locks.


She sits directly beneath them, staring unblinkingly up at them until a two-legged ape walks by to unlock them. This technique also works with empty munchy bowls and gravy dishes.

[camwyn]

Ah, see, to get the munchy bowls filled my cats have worked it out in tandem:

SHULA: Yo. Tiki.
TIKI: *yawns*what?
SHULA: I'm hungry. Get the food lady.
TIKI: It's dawn.
SHULA: I'm hungry and I'm bigger than you.
TIKI: Fine, fine. *headbutts me until I wake up and feed them*

Screw the alarm clock in my cell phone- what gets me out of bed on weekends and other reluctant mornings is the cat headbutting things I need to breathe with until I get up and either feed him or lift my head out of his striking range.

Clever little bastards. They know how to pick their pets.

Re: We could probably give them thumbs, but we'd likely get in trouble with the other animals for th

[aberrantangels]

I'm not sure whether to encourage this sort of creative problem solving or not; this is the cat who regularly plays Does Gravity Still Work

...Yeah, you probably don't want to encourage him, Galactic disapproval or no.

[ahmeemee.livejournal.com]

Speaking of cats...actually, no, apropos of nothing, what is that on your icon's head? At first I thought they were ears of some sort, but then I realised that the icon already had ears, and now my theory is that they're blind moles with giant overbites.

[camwyn]

Nah, they're ears. I figure they're on a headband like deelybobber antennae.

There's...

[unsigned.livejournal.com]

..a quote about cats, opposable thumbs, and the evolutionary ladder.

I don't remember it specifically, but it cautions (tongue-in-cheek sorta way) that cats just may not be our friends. Predators, claws, intelligence, and opposable thumbs...

Are we but a future food source?

Re: There's...

[camwyn]

Not, I think, in this case. My sister, the previous owner of this particular cat, had him declawed on the front end and deballed on the back end. He might be far too intelligent for my own good, but there will be no little Shulalings unless I shell out forty grand to clone him, and that, ha ha, is not going to happen.

[moiety-tx.livejournal.com]

I've got a friend whose cats regularly unplug her fridge. At this point, I believe the power cable is held in place with masses of duct tape, so at least she has a better chance of catching them at it.

It leaves me almost thankful for my cat Karma being quite as stupid as she is!

[(Anonymous)]

There's a relatively common mutation in domestic cats that causes polydactyly -- in some cases the extra digits are opposable, giving the cat the manual dexterity of a raccoon. I dimly remember reading about some fannish cat-breeders who were selecting for this mutation and for intelligence...

-- zwol, from a café

[feonixrift.livejournal.com]

I had a cat once that had a extra finger on each paw, and could use them all perfectly. I've known raccoons with less dexterity than that cat, it got into *everything*.

thumbs

[almeda.livejournal.com]

Leslie Fish has been conducting a selective-breeding-for-intelligence-and-educability experiment for over twenty years, starting with a foundation bloodline including a Siamese. Just recently she introduced a double-pawed Maine Coon cross. The latest generations are learning to use these extra, opposed toes FOR MANIPULATION.

I would note that a friend of mine bought two of her culls (neutered and given as pets to people she trusts to raise them right), who were NOT SMART ENOUGH TO KEEP IN THE POOL, by Leslie's lights. However, within two weeks the kittens were framing her dog for their nefarious food-related crimes so thoroughly that it took my friend six months to figure out that it WASN'T the dog. Delayed gratification. Long-term planning. Decoys.

These cats are scary. :->

Re: There's...

[unsigned.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but its just the whole general cat thing.

I mean it's like the cloned kitty that came out a different color, and with different markings than the 'source' kitty.

They have ways of making you talk, and exasperating humans in general.

Re: We could probably give them thumbs, but we'd likely get in trouble with the other animals for th

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

Uplift. If that's the book I'm thinking of, I really need to read it. One of these days.

Re: thumbs

[(Anonymous)]

That woman is clearly plotting the downfall of the human race.

[sarekofvulcan.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's a Feline Wizard, trying to go out and save the world from the Lone Power. :-)

[sookail.livejournal.com]

if he can figure out how to undo the knob and the deadbolt locks and turn the knob and pull

No way. It`s the "turn the knob" part that always stops them.

[lasa.livejournal.com]

Forgive a dog comment?
The people that used to live in our house had two dogs that learned how to turn the doorknobs. They were Labs, and they'd bat them with their paws until they turned. It helps that this house is craftsman-y style, and the doorknobs are oval shaped - but I was still impressed. My dog has no clue it's at all achievable.

[lwood.livejournal.com]

If so, then he could jolly well use the Ailurin Mason's Word and sidle between the door's molecules and not potentially tip his hand with transparent doorknob ploys. ;)

-- Lorrie

Re: thumbs

[lwood.livejournal.com]

I've heard of these cats, a tale where they'd learned to hunt in a pack -- with the smallest kitten used as a decoy to catch many large, plump birds.

Yep, the Age of Monkeys is nearly over, and I for one welcome our new feline masters. 8-P

-- Lorrie

Cats and Deadbolts

[kelathefinn.livejournal.com]

We had a cat in Hawaii who figured out how to open the knob lock and get out. Our neighbour, who hated that the cats killed birds, despite my saying that if he could catch it, it was probably on its way out anyway, well, SHE used to be livid with us for not keeping the cat inside. We told her he could open the door. She didn't believe us until she saw him doing it one day. THEN we got a deadbolt in addition to the knob lock. Ahem. Nohoohoo sat and watched the deadbolt for about a week, and one fine night, he let himself out. We figure that he first stood on his hind legs so he could push the bolt, then he ran full tilt at the knob, batting and turning it - the door swung out, and he dropped off.
We got another bolt and put it up where he couldn't reach it.
Good luck.

Cats and doorknobs and deadbolts.

[kelathefinn.livejournal.com]

See story about Nohoohoo below. Obviously Nohoohoo was smarter than the average cat - or possibly, more desperate to get out and add bird and rat to his diet.

Re: thumbs, Leslie Fish, and opposed thumb cats

[kelathefinn.livejournal.com]

OH! I want a pet like THAT!!! As a linguist, I'd like to try and teach them to TALK!!!

Re: There's...

[lyorn.livejournal.com]

Predators, claws, intelligence, and opposable thumbs...

Mind Control (http://loom.corante.com/archives/2006/01/17/the_return_of_the_puppet_masters.php)...

[aberrantangels]

That's Salusian!Camwyn, and those are her primary ears!