No Privacy

Mittens & Mizz Purzzy at the door.

As many of you proud feline parents probably already know, one thing cats abhor is a closed door. As a general rule I have an open door policy, meaning I leave all the doors inside the house open at all times. They trained me well. The doors leading outside are naturally closed to my 5 babies. They stay inside where it is safer and healthier for them. Don't want anyone getting hurt or lost.



Mizz Purzzy walks in.



At one time I used to close doors. Girl would not eat if she saw another cat, instead she would run and hide. At first I would feed her where ever I could find her. Weather it be under a bed or the couch. I grew tired of this and started to make her eat in my bedroom only feeding her there. I would catch her, take her into my room and shut the door. I would open a can and place it on the floor for her next to her water. With the door closed it was not long before one or two sets of paws would appear under it. Trying to pull it open or get in.



Mizzy Purrzy watching the water run.





Squirrel getting a drink.



 

Hearing the sound would trigger Girls flight response to run under the bed and hide. I would sneak out trying to draw the others away from the door. Letting Girl out after an hour or when she would start to holler. Only to find out she had not eaten. Once the door was open the others would run in and eat the food. Soon this became frustrating. I started practicing tough love with Girl. I will put the food out and if she eats good. If not, well she will learn to. I decided to quite babying her. I believe between this and other similar actions it helped her. She has made most of her progress since then, now tolerating the others.



Full house.



 

That was the beginning of the open door policy. There are some disadvantages to it. If I go sit on the toilet and look up I have anywhere from one to four cats staring at me. If I sneak in and take too long (brushing my teeth, shaving, etc) Squirrel will appear and jump up on to the sink. She will look into the mirror to see what I am doing, walking back and forth getting in the way. Most of the time she will jump up onto the sink and want me to turn on the water. She likes to drink from a slow stream. She does not care weather I am sitting, standing, or in the tub, she still expects me to turn the faucet on.

 



Squirrel in the tub.



Now for Lil' Bit everything is play. She will run in at full speed jump up on the edge of the bath tub to scratch her claws on the bathmat. I hang the mat over the edge of the tub to let it dry, she thinks it is her personal scratching post, as she is the only one to use it. Then she disappears behind the curtain at one end of the tub. Popping out at the other end, then back around the way she came. Pausing only to use her scratching post. They all like to play in the tub.



Lil' Bit in tub.



 

Mittens, Squirrel, Lil' Bit will run and just jump into the tub without looking first. Sometimes I want to fill the tub and leave it full. Just to surprise them. I know, I am a mean daddy for thinking of that. They will race me into the bathroom getting there before me. Once a week or when my hands and feet are cold during winter. I like to run the tub full of hot water with the door shut to keep the heat in and just soak. If I shut them out there will be 3 or 4 sets of paws poking underneath, one or two sets at a time.

 

Squirrel noticed the camera

and struck a pose.

 

Sometimes someone will follow me in and I will close them in the bathroom with me. Then it is a kitty free for all. Everyone bating at each other under the door. I let in Mittens and Ugly once. Laid back in the water and closed my eyes. Soon I felt something on my face. Opening my eyes I found Ugly walking back and forth along the edge of the tub sniffing at the water. Wondering why in the world I would get into the tub when it was filled with water. Ugly just could not understand it. She was the brave one, me I had my hands protecting my sensitive areas. Mittens was asleep by the door, with Mizz Purrzzy's paws poking underneath.

 



Lil' Bit starting to sharpen her claws.



Currently I am single so it is not problem. I just wonder when I get a lady friend and she comes over how she will feel about being watched all the time. Especially in the bathroom or bedroom. It is normal to have 2 – 4 cats in bed with me with most of the others on he floor. I am never in any room by myself. My every move is watched, rated for appurrval. Oh well I guess that is what you get when you have kids.



Lil' Bit says "This
is my scratching post"



I walked into the bathroom just to take pictures. Naturally the first several times no one followed. Typical, LOL. I flushed the toilet to get their attention, it worked. Looking at the photos I noticed how dusty my walls and baseboards are. Well I am a guy what do you expect.