Sneaky has joined forces with the other cats and learned to open our 8-foot tall pocket doors that divide the living room and dining room. Sneaky prefers to sequester herself in the dining room, and, until yesterday, she seemed satisfied with that amount of space. She rarely ventures out, and as long as we keep Ajax out, she usually gets along with the cats who stop in to visit — usually to eat her food or visit her litter box. Sapphire likes to hang out with Sneaky. Tarzan and Sneaky entered into a loud and furry physical discussion last week, but they have a truce for now.

Daphne and Tarzan (and sometimes Ajax) are my pocket door openers. Lady has been in the room for over a year and yesterday was the first day she opened the door and disappeared into the maze of furniture that is the living room. I lured her out. Mr. L began working on the locking mechanism so we could lock it from the dining room. He got it switched and lubricated, but the doors are warped and cannot be locked at this time. So Mr. L built a wall of boxes, hoping to deter Sneaky.

I heard something this morning before coming downstairs, and sure enough, Sneaky had opened the door and disappeared. We had someplace to be, so I left her there but kept the dining room door closed to keep the other cats out. When we got home this afternoon, Sneaky was lounging on the loveseat, looking smug. Thankfully, she let me cross the room to pick her up and carry her out. I retrieved two rubber strips from the edges of some rubber floor mats, and after the doors were closed, I wedged them between the door and the wall to hold the doors in place. So far that’s worked with the other cats. Will it work for Sneaky? We’ll have to see.