Rhetorical question really. We have a cat flap in our kitchen door, and I've
lost count of the times I've replaced the plastic flap part, due to the door
opening too far and the little projections at the top on two sides which hold
the flap to the frame breaking. So last week I gave up, went to Home Depot and
bought some plywood, hinges and hardware, and made a wooden flap, hinged on top,
with a hook and eye to "close" it at night.

It took exactly less that an evening for Lily, our three year old mischievious
furball, to learn that she could lie down in front of the door, and push up on
the hook, releasing it from the eye, then get out the flap. Often, the outer
door (the door with the flap leads to a porch) is open, so one of our babies who
shows up now and then can at least get to the porch even when everyone else is
locked in. This night, the outer door was open and after our nightly roundup of
babies (we have nine) Lily let them all out.

I thought I'd seen everything. We weren't even sure how she did it until a few
nights later, I watched around the corner while she did her thing. She actually
approached the door and then looked around, as if to see if anyone was watching.
She did see me. Then I saw her, roll onto her back get under the hook and push.
I was laughing too hysterically to get mad at her. So, we started putting a 12
pack of Coke in front of the flap to thwart her. Should have used a bigger case
of soda. The other night, and this is no lie, we heard the usual scraping in the
kitchen. But by the time I went to look, she had moved the soda, opened the
flap, and (this is my favorite part) somehow managed to leave the flap propped
up on the soda case as an open invitation for one and all to join her outdoors.

I've since put a second hook on the door AND started using a twenty-four pack of
soda to block the flap. Sorry Lily, but you're just too smart for me, so I Had
to start playing dirty!

Rick and
Minnie, Daisy, Sandy, Eddie, Lily, Brandy, Cassie, Martha and Rusty.