Clever Cat Removes Bar To Unlock Door For Owner Stuck Outside

@gabbytropea/Twitter

A clever cat has gone viral after he removed a bar to unlock the door which was preventing his owner getting in her house.

There’s a negative stereotype around cats; that they’re the lazy, selfish pets who lay around all day and only pay attention to their owners when they want something.

Dogs, on the other hand, will supposedly do anything to make their owners happy. They’re often trained to help out humans, and they usually can’t resist playing with a stick.

This story defies all of those stereotypes.

@gabbytropea/Twitter

It all started when student Gabby Tropea found herself accidentally locked out of her house by her sister. She went round to the back door to see if it was unlocked, but a stick was wedged in the door to prevent it from sliding open.

Gabby’s cat Boko was inside the house, but due to his lack of opposable thumbs and inability to understand the command ‘please unlock the door’, the student had to try another tactic to get in.

Check it out here:

The owner tapped at the glass on the other side of the window to get the cat’s attention, until the feline started to try and catch Gabby’s moving hand.

In doing so, Boko got a grip on the stick and pulled it free as his owner cheered him on. He successfully unlocked the door, allowing Gabby to get in the house.

I once came home from a holiday to find my cat had clawed the whole carpet up on the other side of the door, effectively making it impossible to open. My cat and Boko are clearly very different.

The video went viral after Gabby shared it online, where it gained over five million views and 500,000 likes at the time of writing.

Speaking to Mashable, the student explained how she’d found Boko under a bench at her university one night, and decided to take him in and restore his health.

She said:

In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have picked up a visibly ill stray cat, but I did …

This is clearly karma at work; after Gabby invited Boko into her home, he returned the favour by making sure she could actually get inside.

The student described the cat as healthy and clever, adding:

I’m proud to share my smart boy!

@gabbytropea/Twitter

After sharing the video, Gabby posted another tweet, writing:

Tbh not surprised this blew up because Boko is a hero and he deserves this.

Boko really is a hero, Gabby could still be locked out if it weren’t for him.

Good job, Boko!

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Emily Brown

Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.