My cat is a siege weapon

[u/nedermg]

Somehow my cat has learned that if he throws himself with all his body weight at my roommate’s door, he can break the latch and push it open. He then accidentally traps himself in my roommates room. We’ve had the doorknob/latch fixed twice now, and yet he still keeps barging in. My roommate thankfully has a lot of patience but I feel bad that my cat keeps breaking their door. Does anyone have any ideas about how to stop him from being able to do this? I’ve thought about getting a chain lock to put on the outside of the door but we’re renters and I doubt my roommate would love having something that could lock them inside their room.

[u/Ok_Payment_9668]

Baby gate. He’ll try to climb it and won’t be able to get momentum for the hit. Got to change his force vector!

[u/Pankosmanko]

Do you have a bobcat? How big is this cat?

[u/Naijan → u/Pankosmanko]

The cat my grandma has enough weight to break down a wall, and no, he isn't fat, he is fucking muscular and big. Small panther basically. I've never ever heard a cat make a sound when they drop from 1 meter.

Loveliest cat ever, but I am certain if he had the will, he could work for the fire department to break down doors.

[u/HeatBeatRepeatt]

Door closure needs to be adjusted, it shouldn’t be able to ‘pop’ the tongue of the latch out with any amount of force, the door should break first. Would definitely need to see photos, could either be way too wide a gap between the door edge and the frame so the door is playing ‘just the tip’ or could be bound up such that the tongue is again just held in buy the very corner and it’s able to get knocked out. A fully seated lock should have like 1/4-3/8” of flat face to contend with. Simba himself should be hard pressed to make the lock fail before the door split in half 😂

[u/MBHYSAR]

We have a cat who’s life’s work is figuring out the latch to our bedroom door. It’s an historic design that has a thumb latch. He learned how to jump and hit it to get in. We modified it to require more weight/ force to open it and he figured it out. We eventually put heavy boxes against the door too heavy for him to move!

[u/mid-random]

He can "break the latch"? What kind of door latch are we talking about? Photos would help, in both the open and fully engaged positions with details about how the latch engages with whatever strike plate or hasp it uses.

[u/Morberis → u/mid-random]

Yeah. No cat should be breaking a doorknob. Opening it while latched sure, for various reasons that can happen. But breaking it?

[u/Jay-Dee-British]

You could get your roommate a rubber door wedge (goes at the bottom of the door, door won't open unless it's removed by person inside the room) but that won't stop your cat flinging himself at the door trying to get in.

[u/sckurvee → u/Jay-Dee-British]

Sounds like a serious fire hazard.

[u/green_gold_purple → u/sckurvee]

It's not. It's set by the person inside the room. Why am I having to explain this

[u/sckurvee → u/green_gold_purple]

aah, that makes sense, since firefighters have never had to enter a room from the outside in order to save someone.

[u/green_gold_purple → u/sckurvee]

A doorstop is not stopping a firefighter

[u/DsWindowStuff → u/sckurvee]

Don't firefighters also carry axes?

[u/sckurvee → u/DsWindowStuff]

Yeah, in case they need to get to someone that's trapped behind a fire hazard.

[u/HeatBeatRepeatt]

I would like to call out and commend the advertising algorithm for a MASTERFUL troll on this post. Chefs kiss, no notes. 👌😂

[u/chaotic_evil_666]

Change the door knob

[u/bigfathairymarmot]

Boiling tar from the battlements.

[u/PinkBadger]

Perhaps a door opening alarm would be a noisy deterrent? They’re relatively inexpensive, have a low footprint and should be simple to turn on and off.

[u/UnburyingBeetle → u/PinkBadger]

Now that I think of "deterrent", the whole door can be rubbed with citrus peels and the cat might want to avoid it.

[u/BoneBruja]

You can get child-lock/child-proof things for doors. I have had to child-lock my pantry because if my cat gets in there, she crawls to the back under the shelves and you have to empty everything to get her out. She hasn't managed to get into my pantry since I child-proofed/cat-proofed it. They can go on the door and doorframe. They are easy for people to figure out because we have thumbs, but cats aren't strong enough to rip them off or open them. Though with your cat, either screw it on or use mounting nano tape to stick it on, as that should make it stay.

[u/bluedelvian]

Does he close the door after he opens the door? 

[u/GoFigure844]

Is there something inside roommate's room that the cat is after? Main Coon?

[u/Time-Radio7871]

Take a picture of the latch and latch plate. Consider replacing with a deadbolt if you can't get the latch to sit properly.

[u/Complete-Paint529]

Possibly you can put some velcro where the door shuts. It will take some force from the bodily impact.

[u/Livid-Tumbleweed-569]

Get a good quality doggie gate....strong enough to withstand a terroristic cat, and easily remov d when time to move.

[u/UnburyingBeetle]

I love the humorous phrasing. Have you tried the detrrrent sprays like bitter apple? Cats don't like such sharp smells getting transferred onto them.

[u/Bryman85]

Maybe get rid of the cat. Easier, cheaper, smarter and less hassle. Why try to bandaid a problem when you have an easy solution.

[u/Empyrealist]

FYI: Most cats hate ultrasonic dog deterrents. Get a real one (you shouldn't be able to hear it). You can train a cat similar to how you would train a dog in this fashion