This Clever Cat Rings Her Own Doorbell To Get Let Inside The House At Night
Sometimes, a pet is so clever that you start to wonder who's really in charge of the household: the human or the animal. In an entertaining TikTok video that's been viewed more than 393,000 times, a tortoiseshell cat named Dior uses her nose to ring a doorbell — which has been installed at her exact height — to request to be let inside. She has to wait a few moments until her humans open the door, then she nonchalantly trots into the house.
@dulcejohnsonn This girl 🐈⬛ She sleeps all day, but roams for a few hours at night like a little diva. #tortoiseshellcat #purr #divacat #catthings
"What a polite lil lady," noted one viewer, and another asked, "Does she double ring if you don't come right away 😂 ❤️" (the answer: yes). One netizen revealed, "I've been saying this for years and I stand firmly with my tin foil hat when I say this but cats are really training us." Many fellow cat owners shared tales of their high-maintenance indoor-outdoor kitties. "Our cat will go out at night and jump up and scratch on the window to let us know he's ready to come in," wrote one person, while another commented, "My cat bangs on the door with his rear paw like the world is ending. 😫"
Teaching new skills to a cat
Are you feeling inspired to install a cat-height doorbell and teach your own cat to behave like clever little Dior? If you're ready to teach your feline friend some new skills — perhaps even teaching your cat to play dead, or getting your cat to come when you call — the key to success is to employ positive reinforcement training techniques. Cats respond well to positive feedback such as praise and high-value treats whenever they do something right, and they respond poorly to punishment such as spraying water or yelling whenever they don't behave as you'd like. It's better to redirect the unwanted behavior than punish it. Training sessions should always be kept short and fun.
One viewer of the TikTok video wrote a tongue-in-cheek theory about cat behavior: "Ppl think I'm crazy but I swear cats are aliens. The way they look at us and act. It's not animal like. They absolutely freak me out 😂." Another netizen responded, "They're here to study us for sure 😁."
Want to read more articles about smart pets? Check out this clever husky who escapes from home and heads to doggy daycare all by herself, and this clever stray cat whose plan to get adopted works purr-fectly.