Kind of Odd

[tallyollyopia]

I thought about putting this in "Behavior", but it's not really a problem--just puzzling for me.

Let me backtrack. Our house has six cats; Rose, Princess, Ra, Slipper, Asia, and Spot. The cats are indoor/outdoor cats. Asia used to have an odd little quirk; she wouldn't come back into the house unless the human opening the door said it was okay for her to come in. (I don't know where the habit came from, and it's gone now.) Even if the door was open she wouldn't come in unless a human said that it was okay for her to come in. We managed to break her of this habit a few weeks ago (mostly by picking her up and lifting her across the threshold. Eventually she got the idea that there was nothing wrong with her entering the house without a human saying it was okay). The odd thing is--now Slipper's started doing. 

Does anyone know why? At least, thanks to Asia, we know how to fix the problem, but why? Why is this occurring? Any ideas?

 

[bobkater]

Could it be that the cat outside doesn't want to be in the house alone with the other cats unless there's a human present?
 

 

[tallyollyopia]

No, because she'll do it even if all the other cats are outside.

 

[bobkater]

I’ll venture another suggestion, probably more likely than the previous one:

A cat can feel offended if you give attention to other cats and keep away as a result. So this cat, before entering the house may need reassurance that you want her.

 

[tallyollyopia]

Slipper is one of the most affectionate cats--and I've never yelled at her. When she comes to me wanting attention, I give it. Why would she suddenly think we might not want her?