A confused cat owner finally realised how her pet kept escaping her house – by pulling her welcome mat through a tiny gap in her sliding door.

Paola Sibona was at home in Aragon, Spain, when she spotted her pet Rouxy looking mournfully through her back window.

Funny footage shows the ginger cat reach a paw through a slither of a gap in the wall and use his claws to bunch up the mat outside.

Using all his strength, Rouxy pulled the mat even further into the house and once the pile had forced the door open wider, he quickly slipped out of the house.

Paola said: “I was very surprised, I laughed a lot and I was proud of my cat. It took less than 20 seconds for Rouxy to open the sliding door.

“I finally understood why, during the summer, I found her outside the house when I had only left the door open slightly to let the air flow.

“I think at first, Rouxy was just trying to play with his paw through the hole and caught the mat. Then he realised that this method allowed him to open the door and he kept escaping outside.”