The terms “cat flap” and “cat door” entered the Oxford English Dictionary in the 1950s, but the idea goes back much earlier in human history. At the dawn of agriculture, thousands of years ago, people noticed that feral cats didn’t eat grain but loved chasing down rodents and gobbling up insects. So they started adding entrances for cats to granaries, a practice that still exists in a few corners of the world to this day.
Today’s more familiar cat doors, made for pampered pets, are much fancier. They usually consist of a flap with weights on the bottom to keep it closed when it isn’t in use. Some models have springs or magnets to hold the door shut against wind and weather. Another feature available on some cat doors is a mechanism that allows them to be set to open in only one direction, perhaps to allow a cat to come back in but not go out again (clever cats figure out how to work around this). Really fancy models will open only for a cat who has the “key,” either a magnet in the collar or an implanted microchip.
Cats loving bringing surprises home for their humans. Usually it’s some token of affection like a dead mouse or bird: unpleasant, but hey, it’s the thought that counts. But what if a cat makes a new friend out in the woods and wants to show them what life is like indoors? Back in 1999, a home surveillance camera captured exactly this scenario.
First we see a tuxedo cat squeeze its way through a cat door — the cat is well-fed, so it takes some effort. That alone would have made for a good internet cat video, but you won’t believe who the cat made friends with! The woodland visitor is much larger than the cat but flexible enough to make it through the cat door.
We’ve posted the video for you below. How surprised were you? Let us know in the Facebook comments and be sure to like and share!
