Clever cat knocks on door of home in eastern India like human visitor

A partially disabled cat has come up with an ingenious plan in its bid to socialise in eastern India.

Christened Neti by locals in West Bengal’s Chinsurah, the cat mimics human actions whenever it decides to make its presence felt.

In a video that has since gone viral, the cat can be seen on its back legs, stretching and using one of its forepaws to tap on the latch a few times, thus making a sound and resembling a knock on the door.

While it had netizens thinking what the clever feline was up to, Newslions managed to decode the mystery by talking to the filmer and the other family members.

Speaking to the outlet, Achinta Kumar Ghosh, the patron of the family where the cat visits, says: “Not just for food, it knocks the door in a similar manner whenever it wants to enter the house.”

Ghosh says that the cat is partially disabled and faces difficulty while meowing.

“The call is not clear and loud enough, however, it has a sharp sense of hearing and the cat immediately recognises the call of our fishmonger once he ventures out in the morning.”

The cat is particularly fond of feasting on fish and enjoys the treat often.

Shatarupa Ghose, the filmer, recollects: “I filmed the action while hiding in a corner. The moment the cat would sense someone’s presence, it would just turn back and stare at that person. The feline is a bit shy.”

Ghosh maintains that it is one of the many in the litter that visits the family daily.

“They are stray cats, but they visit us daily,” he adds. “The others tend to egg him on to knock at the door. This cat is the youngest in the group and I guess he just follows.”

Shatarupa adds that the cat has been visiting the family since July 2021 and sleeps inside a carton that the family has arranged for it.

“Two cats sleep at our home, while the others come and go after the meal,” she adds.

“Once, my mother heard a knock once at night. It was quite late. We asked who it was and there was no response. When we peeped out, we couldn’t see anyone. It spooked us,” she laughs, adding, “Of course, we couldn’t imagine a cat would be knocking like that.”

The family says it has gotten used to the strange human-like behaviour from the feline.

“I have spoken to the local vet. He opined that it is possible that the cat is smarter than average ones and has picked up the action. It knows that if it knocks at the door, someone would respond and resorts to that,” Ghosh adds.