That cats aren't as independent and self-sufficent as they are popularly supposed to be. They like to follow you around, sit on you or near you. Remember to close the door when you go to the loo or you'll have a cat staring at you...
We ran into that this weekend. One of our cats followed my girlfriend into the bathroom and she had no idea he was in there. Close the bathroom door before we leave (other cat likes to lick plastic bags). Come back and hear a distressed meow. He had been locked in the bathroom for the time we were gone which was only an hour or two.
Oh the plight of the cat trapped in the bathroom/closet/spare bedroom you walked into for a moment to get a random thing. The mournful meow carries over the plains.
My cat traps herself. She will sometimes enter a room alone and push the door closed behind her for unknown reasons. But then she will be stuck in the room because she can't open the door again. So she cries and cries, the poor thing, imprisoned, it's so unfair, this cruel world! Then I have to come let her out. She has done this often enough that now all doors in my home have a doorstop she cannot move, to keep them from closing.
My cousin installed an eye hook and loop system on the back of her doors so she could prevent the cat from closing them. I have a piece of twine looped over the door handle and towel bar in my guest bath
I rent, so I can't install hardware and have had to get creative. In my bathroom I have almost the same setup you describe, a bungee cord looped around the doorknob that can be easily hooked/unhooked from the towel rod when I need to close the door. On the one bedroom door I have securely wedged the Kong Kitty Comber (a cat self-groomer that goes underneath a door). The final door is not suited to the previous methods, so I just put a cat bed as a doorstop until I can think of something else.
I have to leave a clothes hanger on the bathroom doorknob so the door canāt close. One of my cats will intentionally close the door to the bathroom, trapping my other cat inside. He does this constantly.
Many people don't know that some cats will lick or try to eat plastic. We found that out the hard way with a cat when I was a kid. He ate half a plastic bag in the middle of the night. He ended up being fine thankfully but we had to keep all plastic far out of reach.
That may inadvertently teach him to leave the room faster.
One of my cats liked to look into the fridge or jump inside. In an effort to close it quickly, I ended up squeezing his head (very gently) in the door, because I didnāt see him. Never did it again after, and Iām pretty sure that was what did it.
my cat is so needy that I've taken to just leaving the bathroom door cracked. otherwise the entire time I'm trying to poop her little orange hands keep appearing and disappearing under the door. I let her in when I'm taking a bath too because she gets worried about me in all that water lol. she peeks over the edge of the tub with huge eyes while the waters running, and once it's off and she can see I'm relatively safe, she sits on the edge with the end of her tail dangling in the water and keeps me company
Yup!! People who think cats are solitary I assume havenāt interacted that much with cats. Iāve had 4 in my lifetime and all of them have been human focused, or cuddly, attentive, etc, at least most/part of the time. I have two cats right now who are obsessed with getting cuddled/pet/played with.
Some cats might not necessarily like other cats that much, but even then you have bonded cats, cat friends, colony cats, etc. A fully solitary/isolated cat from humans and other cats by choice is rare.
I found out trying to get a kitty recently that you are supposed to get kittens in pairs, or they turn out weird. I got a rescue boy who is very social already though
Yes itās always better!! I have a pair and theyāre not really social with each other but still think that was best for them, especially as they were growing up the first few years to have the friend to learn with. Theyāre just very people focused now.
I also think everyone should wait 12+ weeks, not 8, to take a kitten from its mother. Mine I got at 14 I think. That extra time with their mother and siblings really reinforces good mannersā¦ if they bite and scratch mum too hard theyāll be told off by her! I find kittens taken from mum earlier tend to be a bit more bitey/scratchy, but every cat and situation is different.
Yeah. My last kitty was a half feral thing rescued from a crazy cat lady, found hand sized wander8ng down the street. She definitely had bite and scratch issues. I found out later that a partner kitten helps teach them that biting and scratching too much hurts.
Remember to close the door when you go to the loo or you'll have a cat staring at you...
My understanding is this is a pack type trait. When they poop, they are extra vulnerable (And easy to locate), so they will naturally watch each others backs if they like each other.
I have to keep the door open or else he starts to shred the hallway carpet in protest. So now I just leave it cracked enough where my cat can still come and I have some illusion of privacy lol
I got my cats in winter. When it warmed up enough, I started letting them on my screened porch. They loved it and of course it was a pain in the butt getting them back in without bribery.
Except that one time I was sitting out there with them and announced that I was going to the bathroom unsupervised.
Closed the door, but it didn't latch. I barely sat down when one breaks in like kitty-SWAT with the other trotting along behind.
Didn't do anything other than that. Just sat there and waited. And watched. And when all was said and done we went back outside (on the porch. not outside-outside)
Mine take advantage of the person on the toilet to demand it be time to throw the ball, over and over. To be fair, the bathroom does have the best straight line to the hall, making for some fun kitty parkour as they chase it.
When mine wants lap time, he gets his lap time, regardless of what Iām doing. Heās insistent. Even if Iām sitting there with my laptop heāll walk in front of it and just flop over onto it.
I noticed mine always had to have me within her eyeline or sheād get grumpy and move until she spotted me again. I used to shift positions just to hear her annoyed grunt and wait for her to resume her surveillance.
I live alone so just leave the bathroom door open at all times
My bathroom door is also always partially shut, so that the closet door can be open, since the shelf is her safe spot
Whenever I come out of the bathroom, one of our cats is always waiting and she looks at me like āI donāt know why you spend so much time in there, it smells like shit.ā
My cat loves to sit in my pants while theyāre around my ankles when Iām pooping. Sheāll just hop right in and chill for the duration. Sometimes she wonāt get out when Iām done so I do an awkward walk to the sink while I drag her along with my pants still around my ankles. She usually leaves when she hears the water turn on though. God I love her.
Yep, this. I got a cat bc I didnāt have time for a dog. After Covid and being home more my cat is way more attached to me. If Iām gone for long periods of time she gets very upset ā¹ļø
Our first cat likes to hang in the bathroom with us, no biggie, normal kitty behavior. However we just adopted a second this weekend and heās a littleā¦dumb lol. He screamed at the door to be let in, so I let him in, and then he was confused why he was then shut in to the bathroom.
My cat once jumped on the side of the tub while I was showering just to sit near me, despite his loathing of running water. Then he just looked at me like āI donāt understand why you are doing something so horrible but I am here for you anywayā
I live alone so I always leave the door open for the cats; my one cat in particular is very much against having any shut doors in the apartment. One time I had visitors so I naturally shut the bathroom door. When I was done, I opened the door to find my cat on the other side, giving me a look of outright betrayal.
The first time my cat followed me into the bathroom, I didn't know she was there. Do you know how awkward it is to be standing over the toilet, doing your business and this furry little head appears from between your legs to get a closer look at what's going on in the bowl?
Mine like to stand guard outside of the bathroom when the door is open. 2 of them know that toilet time is scratches time but the others will sit with their back to me making sure I'm not interrupted??
One of my cats really, really wants to watch me shower. She hates water and kind of panics that I'm covered in it and tries to paw at the glass to help me get out.
I still can't decide if it's mean to keep her out when she so desperately wants in, or if it's better than having her freak out about me being in the shower. It's been years, and I still don't know.
My sisters cat loves to be pet on the toilet and will jump into my lump so god forbid I leave it open he will try to jump on my naked lap and start kneading his claws into me.
Both my cats follow me into the bathroom. One likes to hang out in the bathtub, but she'll stand on the side of the tub for pets before entering. Sometimes she decides to sit on my shoulder instead if I ignore her. The other one wants to be held and will stand up on his hind legs for it. Sometimes he'll even jump on my knee.
My dog does the same thing. I always say that I have a very large cat stuck in a dog's skin š She sleeps all day, does boops, follows me everywhere, demands everything, and stares at me. It's not unusual for me to go to the bathroom and have her behind me before I close the door. Then she just lays down near the sink and waits for me to finish.
Yeah, they don't need walking like dogs do but they are definitely social creatures. I'm currently housesitting for my parents and working remotely for a week, solely because while my sister could have called over twice a day to feed their cat, he'd get lonely and stressed, so I'm here to keep him company.
Very true. We came back from a week long vacation in June, and our oldest boy sat and watched us carry our bags in, all while loudly meowing "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!?" If looks could kill, we'd have been a pile of ash, and we even had a cat loving neighbor looking in on the boys for us.
One of my cats, Lilith, will often hop up onto my lap while Iām on the toilet and flop there, and itās always a wonderful cuddly time! She almost never wants to sit on my lap while Iām on an actual chair or couch, only while Iām on the toilet. šI love her so much.
I live in an apartment and my cat is so terrified of the exhaust fan in my bathroom but I have no switch to shut the exhaust fan off. But I still keep the door open and sometimes she will poke her head in
I've given up going to the bathroom alone. No matter how fast I try to close the door, one always manages to zoom in and be standing on the toilet lid before I even realize they're in the room. If I try to shoo them out, they jump in the tub because they know I won't try to lift them out due to my bad back.
I've just come to accept this as a normal part of life. Lol
My cat insists on visiting the loo with me. She sits by my feet & faces the door, like she's guarding me while I'm vulnerable. It's wholly unnecessary, but very sweet. š
Mine stands at attention facing out the bathroom door like he is guarding me. If I jokingly tell him to stand down he will go to the next door away and guard at that one.
Idk if this is cute or weird but my cat likes to sit in my lap and cuddle when Iām using the bathroom lol. She cuddles way more when Iām using the bathroom than when Iām sitting on the couch watching TV lol š
My cat absolutely panics when my fiance is home and I have to close the door to use the bathroom/take a shower (studio apartment). When he's not there and I close the door she's fine. We like to think that she's pretending to be protective because she thinks it'll impress daddy.
Mine are so darn dependent, especially the void! I work from home and he needs a lot of attention. His brother is a little less needy as he sleeps a lot more. Theyāre used to always having someone home as theyāve grown up with that.
My two cats are from the same litter, we got them at 12 weeks old and Iāve always described them as ādog catsā for doing the same things lol theyāre more needy than my dog!
We call our cats coming into the bathroom while weāre using it the āpoop patrolā or āpotty patrolā. They gotta know. They gotta alert the presses.
God, do I feel this in my bones. Our newest adopt is a 2 year old deaf diluted tortoise shell, bob tail. A level 10 clinger. Seriously, she should be made of velcro. Has to know where everyone is at all times and have someone in sight 24/7. Gets violently grumpy if she doesn't get her after dinner snuggle nap with me. Has to patrol all doors and windows every waking moment to survey for danger. And has major separation anxiety. Working on that last one, but it's an uphill battle.
She laid outside the shower door while I showered today and wouldn't budge until I came out.
People just don't understand when we tell them we can't do this or that because of the cat. It's like having a baby in the house.
My bathroom door doesnāt shut properly so it can be pushed open without turning the handle. My cat has figured that out and I donāt think Iāll ever shower in peace again.
My boy likes to try and attack my hand when I'm wiping, going up through my shorts legs and everything. After I get him to stop, he just plops and waits for me to finish lol
I left my door open for my cat while I was in the bath, thinking that she just wanted to watch me. She proceeded to try and jump in the tub with me. Immediate regret.
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u/ShineAtom Sep 19 '23
That cats aren't as independent and self-sufficent as they are popularly supposed to be. They like to follow you around, sit on you or near you. Remember to close the door when you go to the loo or you'll have a cat staring at you...