She thought, by the way he was behaving, that the tabby wanted to go out via the pet door. The hard plastic cover was off, but he had issues with it. The youngest (and newest) member of their floofdom, he’d not been socialized well. He distrusted people and other animals, and stayed wary. That seemed like learned behavior, as he was otherwise so sweet, and smart.
He always had trouble with the pet door, though. Her working theory was that the other cats (old and tough rescues from the street who still argued about who ruled the house) often ambushed the tabby when he used the pet door, so he was leery of it. It fit, as theories go.
“You want to go out?” she asked him, heading for the pet door. Sitting four feet from it, he lifted his pretty green eyes from the pet door to regard her but immediately put attention back on the door. His look said, there’s someone out there. If you want to know, you look.
She scoffed. “There’s no one out there. I’ll prove it.”
Looking out, she did see another. Not recognizing them in the dim light (was it the fluffy cat from next door?) she got down on her hands and knees. Pushing the door flap up, she called to the other animal, “Here, kitty, kitty.” As it ambled toward her, she realized, skunk.
Post haste, she dropped the flap and put the hard plastic door on. Standing, hands on hips, she gazed down at her tabby. “You knew, didn’t you?” she accused him.
Yawning, he stood and stretched. Entertainment over, he turned, put his tail up, and dashed down the hall.
Michael Seidel, writer 
What a cheeky little guy! Hopefully the skunk doesn’t know how to use a cat flap!
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I hear that she was terrified of that chance!
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🤣🤣
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Oh, that is ROYAL! I didn’t see that coming at all! I will never forget the night, more than 20 years past, when I woke in my bed to the most AWFUL smell. Turns out Spooky had tussled with a skunk, then come back in through the pet door, literally coated in spray. Two weeks later, we finally got the last of the scent out of his fur … and the furniture, walls, etc. Great story!
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We woke to a mild case the other night after one of the cats came in. She (the neighbor’s cat) had apparently been in the vicinity of a skunk letting loose. Wow, do I commiserate with your experience. Woof.
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Oh yes … we tried everything … the old tomato juice bath, and every other wives tale. We finally found a product at the vet called … I think it was Skunk-Away or Skunk-Gone … and it did pretty good, but … we couldn’t, of course, use it anywhere near his eyes, so it was nearly two months before we were completely ‘skunk-free’. So, your neighbor’s cat helps herself to your kitty door! Reminds me of my neighbor’s kids helping themselves to my fridge! 😊
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