When one door closes, Clancy gets it open.

As a teen, I used to complain that my parents didn't give me enough privacy.  They're nothing compared to my cat.  I stepped out of the shower today to find the bathroom door open, nearly flashing my mom, thanks to a certain furry critter who doesn't like closed doors.

It's his thing.

Whenever Clancy sees a closed door, he is determined to get that thing open.  I like to Zumba in the morning, and Clancy likes to get petted by me and is willing to get kicked by me dancing to get that, so I took to closing the door.  Then he got good at opening it, so I bungee-corded it close (it doesn't lock).  Unfortunately, now he is able to open the door a crack, stick a paw in, work his head in, and then pull himself through.  It's like watching Houdini in action.

He's the sweetest kitty but sometimes he's a little too darn smart.  He's gonna hurt himself.  If Clancy hears the kitchen door to the garage open, he dashes over, and whoever opens it has to body-block him.  The few times he's begun his garage expedition successfully, he darts under the car and starts meowing.  Then its necessary to find another person; one person flushes him out and the other grabs him.  Despite the ordeal, when he's safely back inside and the door is again closed, he sits rattling the doorknob trying to get it open.  Thank god that doorknob is circular.

Clancy is a master with lever doors.  I've had four cats in my life, and each one my parents would place in the laundry room at night to prevent the 6:00 AM cat alarm from going off.  Clancy is the first cat, though, who can get himself out of kitty prison.  Not only did we have to change the handle from a lever to a circular knob, but we also placed the lock on the outside, so when he eventually figures out how to open round knobs we can lock him in.  One day he'll move on to lock picks, and then we'll all be in trouble.