Elsa, our marbled gray tabby, likes to cry in front of the closed guest bathroom door at night.
It’s not because she doesn’t have any food: she is actually overweight and gets fed once in the morning to help her lose weight (she actually didn’t cry when I did this—she merely looked at me with her big Disney eyes and tried to make me pity her until I gave her more food).
It’s not because someone is in the bathroom: Elsa only cries when no one is in the bathroom. When someone is using the toilet she comes in and starts purring for you.
It’s not because she isn’t getting petted: she lays on my desk most of the workday and I continuously stroke her fur while she naps the day away. In the evenings I pick her up and we sit on the couch together. Sometimes she gets upset and jumps down, but most times she will squat on my warm electric blanket and doze off.
It’s because the one thing she wants most in the world is behind that bathroom door: the toilet paper. She wants to jump up on the toilet while her humans are unaware and shred the roll all over the bathroom.
One time I accidentally left the door open and it was like she entered kitty nirvana: the whole roll was ripped all over the floor, with little pieces drifting out into the hallway.
Now we either store the toilet paper roll in the bathroom cabinets or keep the door shut. But she remembers the good times rolling through her head, so she sits and cries in front of the door.
Sometimes we don’t get what we want, and that’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes something else will come your way, and it will lead you on better adventures.
As for Elsa, after a few weeks she fell in love again with the catnip mice I bought from the store. She and Socks had a blast tossing the fresh mice up in the air and carrying their prey around the house.
What door has closed for you recently?