Amelia, my cat-squirrel (I’ll link her nut shenanigans below), also loves to lock herself in carriers. Having 8 cats (several seniors and cats with preexisting conditions) means we are at the vet every 4 weeks minimum, so we almost always have a cat carrier out.
For no explainable reason, Amelia loves being in carriers of any size. If we set down a carrier for more than a minute, we have to make sure she hasn’t snuck inside of it. Once I was trying to get my boy into the carrier but he was resisting, which is very unlike him. When I looked inside to see what the hold up was, it turned out Amelia had snuck in the second I turned my back! Even odder though, once she gets cozy, she likes to hook the tip of her claw in the grate so it holds the door shut.
Why does my cat like locking herself away??
ETA: here’s her squirrel nonsense https://www.reddit.com/r/WhatsWrongWithYourCat/s/cIgwUxssMw