Able to open doors

yayi

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How many of you have cats that can open closed doors? I caught Ni stretching up to reach the doorknob of my bedroom door and trying to turn it. Apparently he learned from watching me. I believe he will soon be able to get into my bedroom on his own. Or is this impossible?
 

jennyr

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Wellington can open any door with a standard pull-down handle. That means my bedroom, bathroom, internal glass doors between living room and hall and door to the back utility room. He just reaches up and pulls them down with a right paw. I have to keep all of them locked, though lately he has been trying to get the key in his mouth as he knows that is what he needs to turn next. It is only a matter of time. Just today I have replaced the internal french door handle with a round knob, as that leads to the hall and then via another door to the outside. He looked so confused when he reached up to it!
 

strange_wings

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I have one that's tried a few times. When we first moved in a couple of the doors have old knobs that didn't latch very well and were very easy to open - Tomas and Sherman caught on to that. Unfortunately one was on the den bathroom.


Tomas has actually tried something else that I think is interesting. In some rooms I'll open the blinds instead of just pulling them up. After watching me a few times he tried to open them, he just couldn't figure out how to turn it with his mouth.
 

goldenkitty45

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Don't underestimate them. Jack is a crafty door opener - by watching us how we do it. He uses his paws like fingers!

We have a child-proof lock on the cupboards where the treats are. And 2 hook n eye ones on the pantry!
 

trouts mom

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Trout can. But only if the latch didn't catch..but she stick her paw under and pulls forward to check if it is latched or not.
 

carolina

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My dad's kitty, Maria, can - you cannot keep her inside of a room, unless it is locked!
 

lisar

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Isie when she was younger could open doors with both pull down handles and round knobs. For the knobs she'd grab on to it with both paws and swing her whole body until it turned. Pull down handles were just a simple paw pull down.

Nowadays she (17-years-old now) can only do it if the door doesn't latch by using the paw under the door and pull forward method.
 

lilyluvscats

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My rainbow kitty Mia would jump and switch the light switch on the wall....the kind that are about 4 feet up. I saw her do it a few times. The first time I was laying in bed and the hall light went on....I got up and she was just sitting there looking at me. lol
 

lisar

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Originally Posted by jennyranson

Oh Lord. I can just see Wellington doing that!
It was precious, funny and terribly cute. Unfortunately she was hard to restrain when she was younger. I used to have to use coat hangers to lock her into the bathrooms. (You know the knobs with the hole and you can unlock using a hanger from the outside? Ya those.)
 

white cat lover

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Originally Posted by Trouts mom

Trout can. But only if the latch didn't catch..but she stick her paw under and pulls forward to check if it is latched or not.
Twitch does this little trick, she'll go around checking doors. Or she'll pound on the ones that swing inward to make sure they're shut tight.


Otherwise so far no one can open doors.
 

kscatlady

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My childhood RB kitty, Goober used to try like hell, but he never managed to quite make it. I think if we had handles instead of knobs he could have done it.
 

missymotus

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I have 4 that open doors and one who can unlock the screen door leading outside so I have to use the key not just latch.

Child locks on all cupboards and wardrobes. Just replaced some because they broke through
 

nekochan

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Only if they are not latched or don't have a doorknob. My bedroom has louvered doors so they don't have a knob you have to turn, you just pull the knob to open/close and they have a little thing that keeps them closed when you close them. The cats have learned to open these doors from both the inside and the outside. I haven't seen them open the doors from inside (where the door has to swing in towards them) but I have put them in there and closed the doors, and then a few minutes later they were out again.
 

steffianne

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We have lots of sliding doors in our house which Dexter has worked out. Initially when we brought hime hokme he slept in the laundry but he quickly learnt how to escape, now he has free reign of the house. Its very clever, rolls right on to his back, puts his front paws under, latches on and shuffles sideways...
We also have sliding screen doors which he can open by jumping up latching on with claws and walking sideways....
Cats blow me away at how clever they are...(first time cat owner)
 

mira's_mommy

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Mira can. In my old apartment all the knobs were kind of loose, real easy to turn, and the foundation was starting to go so the whole house slanted. So Mira would jump up and get her paws around the knob, shift her weight just a little bit to turn it and then hang on while the door swung open on its own. Haven't had that problem here though. This apartment was definitely an upgrade from the last one so needless to say even the door knobs are better quality. Doesn't stop her from trying though, I catch her hanging by the door knob constantly.
 

blueyedgirl5946

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My Rainbow Bridge cat, Max, would lay down, put his paw under bi-fold doors and pull on it until it opened. Then he could get in the closet and hide.
 

railntrailcwgrl

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Yesterday I was training with the dog and put Storm in the bathroom to keep her out of the way (read: stealing the dog's treats). A few minutes later I heard some rustling sounds and next thing I know she's back out into the dinning room. I told DH and he wouldn't believe me. I laughed and told him we can open doors with only 1 thumb, she has 2 on each paw why can't she.
I made sure to put her in the bedroom today, the latch is much tighter.
 
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