In Japan, there is a 4-year-old female cat named Mugi. Her owner noticed a peculiar habit: whenever the family is asleep or not around, she roams all over the house and opens all the mesh screens about 10 centimeters. Since her home is on a high floor, all the windows are equipped with protective nets, making it impossible for Mugi to escape.
The important point is that she doesn't seem interested in going outside; she just pushes each mesh screen open one by one. This behavior has caused a lot of trouble for Mugi's owner. Japanese animal behavior expert and veterinarian Takakura Haruka analyzed Mugi's actions.
Takakura Haruka explained that intelligent animals like cats feel a great sense of satisfaction and happiness when they learn new skills. For Mugi, it probably started when she accidentally scratched a mesh screen and found it moved! She realized, "This thing opens when I scratch it." After that, Mugi repeatedly tried: "Will it open?" → "Scratch!" → "It opened!"
This process is Mugi verifying that her expectation is correct. When her expectation is confirmed (the screen really opens), she experiences a huge sense of accomplishment. Over time, the behavior of "going to open mesh screens" becomes a strong habit.
Takakura Haruka believes this kind of learning is beneficial to animals, and for Mugi, it has an additional meaning. Every time she opens a window, the family comes over to check on her, which creates an expected result of "opening a mesh screen = family will come." For a cat that stays home all day, this turns into an important routine.
So why does Mugi open every mesh screen in the house? Takakura Haruka says that when humans master a skill, they tend to challenge themselves with higher difficulties, and Mugi is no different. After opening one screen, she thinks, "I can open another one, right?" This is a form of self-challenge. At the same time, cats naturally have a territory-inspecting instinct, so opening every mesh screen gives her a strong sense of achievement.
What should one do if they want Mugi to stop opening the mesh screens? "Getting angry, yelling, or punishing is completely meaningless." Takakura Haruka emphasizes that getting angry actually becomes another form of "attention" reward. The cat thinks, "If I do this, the owner will come to me," which encourages her to try even more.
The best solution is to make the mesh screens impossible to open, for example, by installing stoppers or placing heavy objects in front of the screens to increase the difficulty. When Mugi finally realizes that no matter how she scratches, the screen won't open, she will naturally give up.
