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Cat Has Relatable Reaction After Being Accidentally Locked Out By Owner

An adorably fluffy cat made his feelings painfully clear after being accidentally locked out of the house in the cold.

Kovu the British longhair cross was named after a character from The Lion King, and according to the 3-year-old feline's owner can be "a bit of a drama queen."

That's why they created the TikTok account, @Kovukat, chronicling his day-to-day life. In what's quickly developed into something of a daily ritual, his owner likes to film Kovu's reaction to seeing him come home.

It usually results in an adorable clip, with Kovu positively beaming at seeing his owner back home. "I have a lot of reaction videos on my page from when I get back from work and he's always so happy to see me when I get home," the owner told Newsweek. "But not this time."

This time, Kovu had managed to get himself stuck outside in the rain all day and he was not happy about it."He loves being outside but only when the weather suits him," his owner said. "But if it gets windy or rains he likes to come back in."

The pet owner has a pretty good idea of what must have happened. "He must have gone out through the door instead of his cat flap, hence being locked out, as we lock the cat flap at night for his safety."

So rather than be greeted by an overjoyed feline friend, the pet owner was greeted by a cat with an unimpressed face. The resulting clip, which has been watched 1 million times already on TikTok, shows Kovu was not a happy camper.

"He's mad at me," the onscreen caption read. Judging from Kovu's staring eyes and occasional angry meows and hisses, that might be the understatement of the year.

Kovu the cat was locked out of the house. He was not happy about it. Kovukat

The situation went from bad to worse when his owner invited him inside. In the video, Kovu jumps down to use the cat flap, only to find it is still locked. The expression on his face as he angrily looks through the transparent flap at his human companion on the other side is priceless.

Cats are difficult to read. In a 2023 study published in the journal Animals, 438 pet owners were asked to state whether their dog or cat displayed one of 22 different emotions including joy, sadness, frustration and disappointment.

The results revealed that just 58 percent of cat owners believed their pets could express a particular emotion. By contrast 65 percent of dog owners thought the same.

But while cats may be subtle in some respects, the study indicated that felines excelled when it came to expressing anger. In total, 85 percent of cat owners said their four-legged friends could do it, compared with just 60 percent of dog owners.

Most commenting on TikTok appeared to agree that Kovu's owner was in the cathouse after leaving him out in the cold.

"Looks like you have some explaining to do," one wrote with another admitting "his death stare had me." A third added: "he is so mad" while a fourth wrote simply "the betrayal."

Thankfully, Kovu was back inside soon enough while his owner has learned a valuable lesson about always checking the catflap is unlocked in the daytime.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.Com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

The Pet I'll Never Forget: Miles Was The Cat No One Wanted. I Took Him In – And He Never Left My Side

My journey with Miles started, practically, in an Uber returning from the Cats Protection centre in north London, his huge, golden eyes peering out from his bulky carrier.

But the road to Miles and I ending up together began much earlier. He was a successor to two abandoned kittens I had found at the bottom of my garden and taken in. I raised them for three weeks, syringe feeding them with specially formulated milk. A friend then adopted them (they are thriving).

But I missed the kittens and thought it time for a permanent feline friend. I had grown up with two cats: Pepsi and Tess. I loved them dearly, and they died, adored, at 18 years old, their long lives filled with … well, mostly sleeping and eating.

Miles had been the longest-standing resident at the rescue centre, his intense shyness preventing visitors from forming a bond with him. Once home, his timidity continued. He ran under the cooker and didn't come out for days; then he ran under the desk and didn't come out for weeks. He crept from his hiding place in the night to eat and drink. "I am living with a ghost cat," I told a friend.

But gradually I earned his trust (mostly through treat-based tactics), and then he never left my side. Whenever singledom made it possible, he slept under the crook of my arm in bed, or with his head on the adjacent pillow, his warm breath on my cheek.

'He was so handsome, with his aristocratic ruff' … Photograph: Supplied image

He was so handsome. I expanded his name to Fitzwilliam Miles Wentworth, because of his aristocratic ruff. He was part Maine coon, but instead of the breed's typical long ears, Miles's were tiny triangles, which I rubbed like a swatch of velvet between my fingertips.

Miles's best friend was Merlin, a neighbourhood cat. Merlin would often come and chill, the two of them on the sofa. While Miles resembled a cylindrical feather duster, Merlin was as wiry as a pipe cleaner.

One evening, I stayed at a friend's, putting food and water out, and leaving Miles to roam overnight with Merlin, as he often would. When I returned, he didn't come bolting through the cat flap as was customary and, as darkness fell, I began to worry.

I found Miles outside, unable to use his hind legs. He was soaking wet, but he wasn't bleeding. My neighbour drove me to a 24-hour vet. The verdict was horrific. He had somehow become injured and as a result, in rapid time, fallen victim to something called flystrike, which left him infested with maggots. The internal damage he had suffered was brutal, and he could not be saved.

I still blame myself. I feel if I hadn't been away that night he would have been inside with me. I was his protector, and I had failed to protect him. He was two and a half when I took him in, and just five when he died.

I moved to a new place, and often think of Merlin, who almost certainly misses Miles as much as I do. I barely ever addressed him as Miles – usually buddy, sometimes pal. He's still with me, but now it's in photographs on the fridge. I'm so sorry, buddy. I miss you, pal.

Yet Another Cat Door

RFID cat flaps are one of those projects we see all of the time. They are generally pretty simple to rig up, not too expensive, and have a good "wow" factor for any non-technical friends or family, not to mention tremendously useful. Why did we decide to share this one? Well, for one, it is simple. It doesn't tweet, email, or text message, it just gets the job done. Two, it is excellently documented, including a detailed parts list and a step by step schematic just about anyone could use to build their own. [landmanr] does mention that he recommends some sort of project enclosure to protect the electronics from damage, which would be bad for the poor cat stuck outside.

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