Cat Behavior

[BlsdMama]

We have a string of bells on the door handle.  We've been trying to train the dog to ring the bell to go out - no success thus far.  However, Sassy Cat has learned to ring the bell and then meow at the door to signal she wants to go out. I'm flabbergasted.  She's the most human cat I've ever met.  Is this normal cat behavior? She's such an interesting (and moody) cat that I'm continuously surprised by her.

[Terabith]

1 minute ago, BlsdMama said:

We have a string of bells on the door handle.  We've been trying to train the dog to ring the bell to go out - no success thus far.  However, Sassy Cat has learned to ring the bell and then meow at the door to signal she wants to go out. I'm flabbergasted.  She's the most human cat I've ever met.  Is this normal cat behavior? She's such an interesting (and moody) cat that I'm continuously surprised by her.

I've known a bunch of cats that have learned to ring a bell to communicate they want to go in or out.  

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, it seems normal.  (Though after losing a cat to coyotes my cats from then on were totally indoor cats only so it wouldn't work for them.) 

[Pawz4me]

It's a fairly normal thing for a cat to learn. They're champions at getting humans to do their bidding.

[katilac]

Yes, common cat behavior. 

Most of our current cats simply meow, but we have one that tap-tap-taps on the glass like a person knocking. 

Very cute, but now venturing into annoying, as she eventually realized it always gets our attention, so she'll use it when she wants other things as well (treats, attention). 

[freesia]

Yes, dd trained ours to ring a bell to be let out of her room. 

[KrissiK]

Mine have their own ways of letting me know. Goldie gently claws my leg and then go sits by the door. Cleo meows. or sometimes she just sits by the door and glares at you until you let her out. And the others… they just let you know.

Cats really are quite fascinating animals. They are brilliant and completely heartless. Little sociopaths.

Edited March 11, 2023 by KrissiK

[klmama]

One of our cats would use both front paws to bang repeatedly on a closed door to tell us to open it for her.  We didn't use a bell for the cats, but our dog figured it out and started using it to get our attention for multiple reasons.  That got annoying, so we took it down.  

[katilac]

23 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

 Cats really are quite fascinating animals. They are brilliant and completely heartless. Little sociopaths.

Gasp! Maybe your cats are heartless, but my precious babies are not 😄

 

[Clarita]

My MIL had a cat that could open the screen door to let herself out. 

[stephanier.1765]

My son's cat can open doors. They are the lever kind and the cat figured out all he had to do was hang on and his world would open. They are planning to change to knobs to keep their little menace in check. His favorite room to open is their game room where all their collectibles are displayed. The cat firmly believes he is being denied the best cat toys known to cat kind.