Mad Cat Flap Attack

[Bilderberger]

OK - I am the proud owner of a cat - Daisy.

She has access to the house via two cat doors - one from kitchen to garage - the other from garage to outside.

At about 10:30 in the evening, the garage cat door is put on one way- so she can come back in - but not leave the house until we flick the switch in the morning.

When I went down to open the door for her this morning - I found the cat flap door missing!

Even more bizarre - it was lying on the outside of the house - shattered into 3 pieces.

A closer inspection also revealed sets of very clear scratch marks - in runs of three - all over the patio outside the cat door. (remember any trapped cat would be on the inside of the house!).

Consequently, we can only assume that a cat entered the house - found it could not get back out - smashed the door into pieces by ramming it with his/her head - and then threw a fit outside - scratching the patio furiously, to leave indented scratch marks in stone!

This is one hell of a cat.

Or is there another explanation?

By way of background - we have had a cat enter our house and then open the one-way door by flicking the switch with a claw. This is not beyond cats. Also, a neighbour's cat (now dead) used to have a "problem" with cat flaps and would attack ours (she would go totally bonkers). She suceeded in ripping two doors off of our garage. However, ripping a door off its hinges is quite different than actually smashing the bloody plastic into pieces.

Any thoughts?

Should this be in Crytozoology instead of chat

 

[Melf]

 

[Anonymous]

sound more like a badger/fox attack to me

 

[Bilderberger]

I can quite understand the badger/fox coming in through the cat flap - then getting trapped - and panicking to fight its way outside. Hence the smashed door (but seriously - that would give one hell of a headache)

What I don't understand is that (I presume) afterwards it gouged sets of scratch marks into patio stone slabs of about 1mm (and no exaggeragtion - these are gouged out of the stone). Why would a badger/fox stick around to do that?

Is that something that either badgers or foxes would do? Could it be a territory marking thing?

P.S. Yes - mods - merge - whatever - apologies - it really is a risk starting a new thread on this board Seriously - stick it wherever

 

[Anonymous]

yes seems odd (even sort of like a "black dog " thing) but foxes sort of scoot things between their legs sometimes to secent mark them... grab then under front paws and proell them backwards..maybe marking the stone?... i would think the marks of the paws would be a distinguishing feature..cats/fox/dog/badger would i think be quite diferent.

 

[badweasle]

I agree with sidecarjon, maybe the gouge marks are from the broken plstic on the catflap. And badgers are known to go pretty mental at times, so maybe one had a bit of a hissy-fit after being trapped.
Did laugh at the thought of a cat going garraty though!!!!!!

 

[marion]

The flaps made from rigid plastic are really brittle, I got through loads (from my dog sticking her clunking great head out of them when a strange cat passed)
A really excited cat might smash one, say if they heard a cool fight and wanted to join in and didn't realise it was locked.
Dunno about the scratches- maybe from a fight or just marking scratches?

 

[mejane]

(moved to General Forteana )

I'd put my money on a badger too - tried to get in, found it couldn't fit and went a bit wild.

Jane.

 

[badweasle]

Or, I suppose, when a cats got to pee, nothings gonna stop it, even if she has a gentle, demure name like Daisy!!!
Perhaps she barged out the catflap, busting to go, shattering it, had to pee there and then (over broken catflap) then did that scratching-covering thing that cats do, couldn't get any earth to cover it (as it was a patio) so dug deeper-leaving gouge marks.
Or is this idea sillier than the thought of a chupacabras in your garage?

 

[chris_in_LA]

Well whatever it was keep Daisy inside for a few days until it moves on!

 

[Bilderberger]

Or, I suppose, when a cats got to pee, nothings gonna stop it, even if she has a gentle, demure name like Daisy!!!

Fortunately, the demure Daisy has a litter tray in the garage which she can use at night if desperate.

As for the plastic shards causing the scratches - highly unlikely - there are numerous sets - all in groups of 3 distinct lined marks. Definitely claws.

For those worried about Daisy's safety - until I fit a replacement door - I am blocking the gap at night with a piece of wood and a stratgically placed broom jamming the wood in place. My wife seems to be quite worried as well as Daisy!

I guess we will never know the answer.

Very intriguing though!

P.S. Mejane - thanks for moving to General Forteana - a promotion from chat

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

One thought that occurs to me is are the making of the claws marks and the breaking of cat flap contemporary or is it a palimpset? Is it possible you missed the scratches (pos. formed by a badger wandering around the garden or a couple of them fighting) and theywere only obvious when you cleared up the broken cat flap?

If they aren't connected the broken cat flap might be the result of some kind of freak weather (although it would have to be an awfully rapid drop in pressure or a mighty gust of wind).

Emps

 

[Bilderberger]

One thought that occurs to me is are the making of the claws marks and the breaking of cat flap contemporary or is it a palimpset? Is it possible you missed the scratches (pos. formed by a badger wandering around the garden or a couple of them fighting) and theywere only obvious when you cleared up the broken cat flap?

If they aren't connected the broken cat flap might be the result of some kind of freak weather (although it would have to be an awfully rapid drop in pressure or a mighty gust of wind).

Emps

Hmmm - good thinking.

I cannot say with total confidence that the scratches and the broken door must be contemporary. As you rightly say, there would have been no reason for us to have looked at that area until after the door was smashed. Could have been there for weeks.

Your weather idea is also a possibility - it was a very cold night (Friday - Saturday) and the lawn was white when I got up. If the door warped due to the extreme cold - it could have smashed the cat door out?

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Your weather idea is also a possibility - it was a very cold night (Friday - Saturday) and the lawn was white when I got up. If the door warped due to the extreme cold - it could have smashed the cat door out?

Ahhhhhhhhhh - I would have thought the cold snap would be unusual to have done this but it does seem like a good candidate esp. if it had been wet before hand and it would also make the plastic brittle. How far from the house were the bits? I could imagine if thy were close then it might have fallen out - if they were a long way then it is unlikely that they would have been shot that far - although I certainly couldn't rule it out.

On the scratches - badgers are powerful creatures and I suspect they'd be quite capable of making those scratches (although unrelated the American badger, Taxidea taxus can, allegedly, dig through concrete. That said a quick search on the British badger advises using concrete to make badger tunnels under roads and stop them digging through places) - if one had been in your house though I suspect you'd have seen more damage than just the cat flap

Emps