Why does my cat cry and paw at the mirror at night?

Anna Levin

I have a 3 year old siamese mix neutered boy who is very docile and sweet-tempered. I thought he was lonely so I got him a little siamese sister and they get along great. But every night without fail, he goes to the sliding doors of my closet (they are full length mirrors as well as sliding doors) and starts crying dolefully while pawing the edges of the doors... it makes the loudest clanging sound! Nothing stops him from doing this. I have tried water guns, clapping loudly... he will leave temporarily then come back five minutes later when I'm finally falling asleep. Any ideas as to why he's doing this? It is incredibly frustrating.

Sandy Nenninger

It sounds like he wants to go into the closet. Mine are bifold doors and Chelsea bangs on them to see if she can get them to open. My cats all hate any closed door in the house and they are pretty sure they need to go into any closet, drawer or cabinet that opens. When I am picking out clothes in the morning, I have to pluck 5 cats back out before I close the door. If there is nothing he could lay on and get hair all over, just hanging clothes, I would try opening the door a bit and letting him go in there to hide. I don't let mine in though because my clothes hang low and I have enough hair on everything without asking for more.

Joy Walters

Allie is right. I can't tell you how many times I've had to run around my house, opening basement, closet and cupboard doors looking for Izzie and Lily. Delilah meows woefully when she's stuck someplace, but not the other two. You could leave the doors open. Also, it's possible that he sees movement in the mirrors. Since he seems like a friendly kitty, he may think he sees another potential friend! Is there any way you could cover up the mirrors at night? Even taping some brown wrapping paper over them temporarily might work (only up as high as he can reach) If it's that frustrating, it would be worth the extra effort. Open the doors so he can get in and then just tape a cover over one door about three feet up. That way, you'll be covering all the bases and can get some sleep!

Sandra Perry

Oscar J. can't stand a closed door either. He will scratch and try to open the door any way he can. AND he's fascinated with mirrors. We just got new dressers at my house and when we were taking apart the old one and put the mirror on the floor, he hissed and carried on for that "other cat" he saw.

sarah l

we have 3 cats, one is a 2 yr old male domestic/siamese mix who does the same thing as yours every night!! the only thing we can do to make him stop is to wake up & give him attention...a lot of the time its frustrating for us because when we finally get up to go near him he runs away & decides that he wants to play hide&seek. some nights he is so adiment that we have to lock him out of our room....but he still cries outside of our door. some nights he needs alot of attention whereas other nights all he wants is a treat! i guess kitties decide when & how they want our attention!!  any other funny habits your siamese has?? ours can be pretty crazy some days!!!!!