Any cat parent knows that bathroom privacy doesn’t exist. Beyond the usual, don’t you dare close that door behavior, Anabel and Sally are very interested in the shower on a daily basis. Most days, when I open the shower curtain, I find Sally sitting on the bathmat waiting for me. If he was distracted when I went in, he will come running when he hears me getting out. He examines all of the drips and once I’ve toweled off and stepped out of the tub, he hops in to inspect it. It really is too bad that he can’t hand me my towel.
Sometimes Mr. Man closes the door. If Anabel is keeping tabs on him, she will sit outside of the bathroom door and cry and cry and cry. If Sally is keeping tabs on him (they take turns), he has a door opening technique. He will sit up on his back legs and use his front paws to push at the door – it is sort-of like speedbag boxing. If the door isn’t firmly latched closed, he can get it open; it’s worked many, many times on my closet door.
The other day, both kittens were supervising while I showered. Anabel was sitting on the edge of the tub and Sally just outside on the mat. After I dried off, I closed the door partway to hang up my towel. One thing that the kittens like less than being closed out of the bathroom is being closed in the bathroom. I try to close it sometimes when it isn’t kitten bath day just to switch it up on them, but it’s too late. They think that the closed door mean they are getting a bath.
Because of the placement of the vanity and the door, even when the door is ajar, there is not enough room to get out at ground level. So, as they noticed that the door was closing, they tried to run out. It was great to watch them panic, then start to problem solve. Sally jumped up on the counter, then out the door. Anabel noticed that her brother had left and was about to follow in his footsteps, but Sally went ahead and pushed the door open for her. What a gentleman.