Solving the problem of dogs, doors and cats – Dunwoody Crier

If youve ever been owned by a cat, you know about cats and doors. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. Anyone who has a cat at home realizes it is the cat who does the owning and not vice versa.

Cats simply cannot abide closed doors, and our cat Puddin is a perfect example of that phenomenon. The last few months have been quite trying for the little princess because I began closing the bedroom door at night to keep the dog in.

Ive written before about Banjos doggie dementia and his new habit of going downstairs several times a night to bark at his water bowl in the kitchen until someone that would be me goes downstairs and escorts him back to the bedroom. I solved that problem by locking him in the bedroom at night, but the door being shut was an issue for Puddin.

Its not that she wants to be in the bedroom all night. Its that she wants the ability to come and go as she pleases. It was entertaining to see her little white paws appear under the door as she tried to open the darned thing. Id hear the door rattle and look up from my book to see those adorable paws. Once I turned out the light, I assumed she gave up, but no!

One night, I was awakened from a sound sleep when the door banged against the wall in the wee hours. I hadnt latched it well enough, and Puddin pushed and pushed until it opened. I sat up in bed, and she leaped onto my legs meowing indignantly. I think she said, What were you thinking? or something to that effect.

I tried shutting the door more firmly, but Puddin broke in another time or two. Finally, I left the door cracked open with a shoe in front of it to keep it from opening wide. That was fine by Puddin because she can squeeze through tiny spaces.

Puddins trials and tribulations began anew when we finished remodeling the guest bathroom on the main floor. Looking ahead to aging in place and the possibility of one of us needing a walker, we enlarged the shower and put in a pocket door to provide a wider entrance.

The construction didnt bother the princess, but she had an issue with the new sliding door to the shower being closed. I was blissfully unaware of her distress until I was drinking coffee in my easy chair early one morning and heard a strange persistent noise. It sounded like something or someone was falling. Thankfully, it was only Puddin trying to get in the shower. Another problem easily solved by sliding the door slightly open.

Next, it was the pocket door that irritated her. When we crank up the wood-burning stove during cold spells, we close the doors to the bedroom, dining room and bathroom on the main level. The dining room doors are small French doors Puddin has learned to push open an inch or two, but the bathroom door was something new.

Again, I heard a loud noise. I headed to the guest bath, and sure enough, the princess was rattling the pocket door by pushing it with her paws and nose. I took pity on her and cracked it open a few inches.

With the door issues handled, Puddin has shifted her attention to the new television and chest in the living room; and dogs, doors, and cats are living in harmony at least for now.

Kathy is a Sandy Springs resident. Find her books, Lord Banjo the Royal Pooch and The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday, at the Enchanted Forest and on Amazon. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com.

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Solving the problem of dogs, doors and cats - Dunwoody Crier