A Very Determined Black Cat…

Magic, our black ex-barn-cat, has perfected opening doors.

I watch him use his paw with the bi-fold closet door in the spare room;

a little bit of a paw-hook-maneuver over to one side to ease the door out ever so slightly,

followed by a nudge with his head at the centre to make a gap,

then back to the paw reaching underneath the fold to coax it towards him a tad more,

then back to the centre to use his head to push with all his 14 lb cat-might inwards,

then back to the fold to pull with his paw,

and again to the middle that is now open just enough for him to get his head through and,

Tada!  He’s in the closet!…and out again to hide under the bed…

“What would I want in the closet?” his look says as he disappears.

I shake my head.  Cats!

The same goes for the pocket door in our guest bathroom.  This is his ‘time-out’ place when he uses the screen on our front patio as a fourth wall to bounce off when he’s running deliriously around in the fresh air.

His paw deftly hooks underneath the door and pulls it open.  He never stays confined for more than a minute.

We started locking it but he’s cracked that too, he stretches his full height reaches up and pads the metal fixture until he can lean his body against the door and open it.  This takes a little longer because the jiggling of the lock has to be ‘just right’.

Unperturbed he shows up in the kitchen with a,

“Hi everyone!  What’s going on?”  look on his pert little face.

Now he’s decided to move on to more challenging things.  He’s currently working on the agility involved in opening the fridge door.

I’ve noticed he hops onto the counter whenever I approach to get my fizzy water, or milk for cereal…anything that involves gaining entry into the cold food cupboard.

He studiously observes what I do.

Curious

“Oh, I see!”

and when he catches me looking he acts nonchalant as if the last thing he’s interested in is my refrigerator-opening technique,

Curious2

“Hmmm, what’s up there?”

but when I step away he moves into action and reaches out with one of his dextrous front paws to gently pat at the stainless steel.

He decides he’s at the wrong angle so hops down to the tiled floor where I’m standing and rises on his hind feet to get a closer look,

Curious5

“OK, I can do drawers…”

He sees me pull the door open countless times a day and figures,

if he can just get his paw at the right angle,

Curious4

“Maybe a step stool?”

his body another inch or two longer,

and then grasp with those long talons of his,

Curious3

“Nearly there!”

he’ll eventually succeed!

And then he’ll no longer have to wait, with his other feline pals cheering from the sidelines, for the clock to decide when it’s time for Friskies.

He’ll be able to grab the tin and eat the meaty shreds, anytime he wants!

If he can figure it out…

and Magic is a very determined cat.

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elray

2018-07-23 15:31:00 Reply

He is bright and a good boy.

Annette

2018-07-24 02:58:03 Reply

Smart cat

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