[GalFisk] Morning is broken

[GalFisk]

The doorbell rang.
"Ungh... who can that be? At this ungodly time?" It was almost two hours until my alarm would ring. Nevertheless, I got out of bed and put on my worn housecoat.
The doorbell rang again.
"I guess it's important." I went down the stairs of my apartment block, and tried to peek through the windowed door at my visitor, as I went to open it.
Sherlock Holmes was standing outside. "I see that you have a cat," he explained disarmingly, "and that you and your pet love each other very much."

The many previous questions at the tip of my tongue all evaporated. "How did you know that about my cat?"

[Sundowner64]

Was the door locked?
Are there many apartments in the house?
Did Sherlock ring up specifically you? or just a random apartment that happened to be yours?
if specifically you: did he select you by name? by apartment number? by apartment location?`
Did Sherlock already know you have a cat when he rung the bell? or did he come to the conclusion only after seeing you?
Relevant on which floor your apartment is?
Do you actually have a cat? Does your cat occasionally jump out of the window or otherwise leave the apartment through the window (from the window to the roof maybe)?
Did Sherlock conclude from you having a housecoat ready that you frequently go down during night to let your cat in or out?
Does the house have a cat flap?

[GalFisk]

Was the door locked? Yes.
Are there many apartments in the house? Yes.
Did Sherlock ring up specifically you? Assume this. or just a random apartment that happened to be yours? But this would work, too.
if specifically you: did he select you by name? by apartment number? by apartment location?`He didn't say.
Did Sherlock already know you have a cat when he rung the bell? No. or did he come to the conclusion only after seeing you? Yes.
Relevant on which floor your apartment is? Yesish.
Do you actually have a cat? Yes. Does your cat occasionally jump out of the window or otherwise leave the apartment through the window (from the window to the roof maybe)? No,
Did Sherlock conclude from you having a housecoat ready that you frequently go down during night to let your cat in or out? No.
Does the house have a cat flap? No.

[Puzzlecat]

Is your apartment on the second floor? Third? Fourth? Is it relevantly on the highest floor of the building?

Did Sherlock make those conclusions based on your physical appearance? Something he saw when you opened the door? Something you did?

[GalFisk]

Is your apartment on the second floor? This. Third? Fourth? Is it relevantly on the highest floor of the building?

Did Sherlock make those conclusions based on your physical appearance? Yes. Something he saw when you opened the door? Yes, me. Something you did? No.

[Sarisberie]

Are we all (LTPF-ers), effectively, Sherlock Holmes?
Since he saw something (e.g. you, your appearance) when you opened the door, presumably he must have had another reason for ringing the doorbell?
Was he visiting you in particular? Would this puzzle still work had you lived on another floor? Is there a lift?
Was the cat lost, dead, injured, other? Did he ring the bell randomly to find out who, in the building, was a cat owner? Did he see corresponding cat hairs on your clothes? Had you been up all night looking for the darned cat?

[GalFisk]

Are we all (LTPF-ers), effectively, Sherlock Holmes? No. He knows, you don't (yet).
Since he saw something (e.g. you, your appearance) when you opened the door, presumably he must have had another reason for ringing the doorbell? Irr. Maybe he just wanted to figure in a puzzle.
Was he visiting you in particular? Irr. Would this puzzle still work had you lived on another floor? Probably. Is there a lift? Irr.
Was the cat lost, dead, injured, other? No. Did he ring the bell randomly to find out who, in the building, was a cat owner? No. Did he see corresponding cat hairs on your clothes? Yes. Had you been up all night looking for the darned cat? No.

[Sarisberie]

Would this work if it was another detective, e.g. Hercule Poirot? Was Sherlock your only visitor?
Were you wearing or holding something cat-ish, e.g. a kitten, a cat jumper? Were you the only person living in an otherwise uninhabited building? Was Sherlock being sarcastic?

[GalFisk]

Would this work if it was another detective, e.g. Hercule Poirot? Probably. It's most typical of Holmes though. Was Sherlock your only visitor? Yes.
Were you wearing or holding something cat-ish, e.g. a kitten, a cat jumper? No. Were you the only person living in an otherwise uninhabited building? No. Was Sherlock being sarcastic? No.

[Sundowner64]

Would the puzzle not work when you would live on the first floor/ground floor? or higher than second floor?
Relevant on which part of your housecoat the cat hair was?
Was the cat in your apartment when Sherlock rung at your door?
Was the cat sleeping on the housecoat?
Was Sherlock's reasoning along the lines: cat hair on your clothes -> you have a cat? some other yet not identified clue -> you did something special for your cat -> you love your cat very much?

[GalFisk]

Would the puzzle not work when you would live on the first floor/ground floor? Therr could've been more clues for Sherlock. or higher than second floor? It works fine as long as I'd have bothered to come down.
Relevant on which part of your housecoat the cat hair was? No.
Was the cat in your apartment when Sherlock rung at your door? Irr.
Was the cat sleeping on the housecoat? Irr.
Was Sherlock's reasoning along the lines: cat hair on your clothes -> you have a cat? Yes. some other yet not identified clue -> you did something special for your cat -> you love your cat very much? Yes/OTRT.

[Sarisberie]

Did Sherlock also live in that building? Relevant at all where he lived? Does the cat have a little cat-jumper on, or some-such? Is its cat-collar important? A special collar, e.g. Tiffany studded with diamonds ? Perhaps Sherlock found the cat's collar outside? Did Sherlock know you lived upstairs, e.g. according to the time it took you to come down? "More clues for Sherlock" if you lived on the ground floor = he might be able to hear or see something, such as your cat miaowing, or the cat might've come to the door too?

[GalFisk]

Did Sherlock also live in that building? No. Relevant at all where he lived? No, assume 221B Baker St.Does the cat have a little cat-jumper on, or some-such? Is its cat-collar important? A special collar, e.g. Tiffany studded with diamonds ? Perhaps Sherlock found the cat's collar outside? No to all. Did Sherlock know you lived upstairs, e.g. according to the time it took you to come down? Observant as he is, he'd immediately deduce this, if other things hadn't clued him in already. "More clues for Sherlock" if you lived on the ground floor = he might be able to hear or see something, such as your cat miaowing, or the cat might've come to the door too? Correct. And then the puzzle would've been too easy.

[Puzzlecat]

Did Sherlock figure out you loved your cat : because he deduced the cat was with you before he came? Because of an item you bought for the cat? Because of something you did? Something the cat did?

[GalFisk]

Did Sherlock figure out you loved your cat : because he deduced the cat was with you before he came? Because of an item you bought for the cat? No to both. Because of something you did? Something the cat did? Yes, he deduced both of these.

[JenBurdoo1]

In addition to the hair, is the housecoat stained? New? Wearing out? Is its color, or the cat's color relevant? For example, if you had a black cat and a black housecoat, would Sherlock have noticed you have a cat? Or realized you and your cat loved each other?

Are you making sacrifices for the cat?

Is the door relevant, or the doorway? Decorations? Damage? A nameplate or other physical attachment? Anything outside that Sherlock saw on his way in? Anything besides cat hair that you brought out?

[GalFisk]

In addition to the hair, is the housecoat stained? New? No to both.Wearing out? Noish, but explore. Is its color, or the cat's color relevant? No. For example, if you had a black cat and a black housecoat, would Sherlock have noticed you have a cat? Probably, he has a sharp eye. Or realized you and your cat loved each other? If he noticed I have a cat, he'd know this also.

Are you making sacrifices for the cat? No(ish), but explore.

Is the door relevant, or the doorway? Decorations? No to all. Damage? Yes. A nameplate or other physical attachment? Anything outside that Sherlock saw on his way in? No to all. Anything besides cat hair that you brought out? Yes (DOYD of "brought out".

[Puzzlecat]

Are there visible scratch/bite marks in the housecoat? In a specific location i.e sleeves? On another object? Otherwise, was the *lack* of scratch/bite marks a clue for Sherlock?

[JenBurdoo1]

Scratched up coat? Scratched up door? If the door, is it because there's no catflap, and this is the method the cat uses to alert you it wants in or out? Is the coat valuable? The door?

Anything to do with the fact that you tolerate the damage the cat does?

Does it sit on you and knead the coat in your lap, pricking you as well as damaging the coat, but purring all the while so you just can't bear to remove it? (This happens to me all the time!)

[trebor2]

Is he able to deduce that your cat loves you because of something he sees on your person? Because of a smell? Because of something he hears? Same questions for your love of your cat. If you had put on something other than your housecoat, would he be able to make these deductions? Are the pockets of your housecoat relevant? Or the sash that ties it together?

Is it relevant that your door has a window? Relevant that you peeked through it? Does something about your behaviour clue him in to the love of your cat or your cat's love of you?

Is Sherlock just smart enough to figure that if someone owns a pet, they must of course love them, because all pets are wonderful? ("Sherlock Holmes and the Case of 'Well, That Was an Easy Deduction'", an unpublished story.)

[GalFisk]

Are there visible scratchYes, this./bite marks in the housecoat? In a specific location i.e sleeves? Yes, but not this. On another object? Otherwise, was the *lack* of scratch/bite marks a clue for Sherlock? No to both.

Scratched up coat?v Yes. Scratched up door? If the door, is it because there's no catflap, and this is the method the cat uses to alert you it wants in or out? Is the coat valuable? The door? No to all.

Anything to do with the fact that you tolerate the damage the cat does?Possibly, but not mainly.


Does it sit on you and knead the coat in your lap, pricking you as well as damaging the coat, but purring all the while so you just can't bear to remove it? (This happens to me all the time!) Close enough.


Is he able to deduce that your cat loves you because of something he sees on your person? Yes. Because of a smell? Because of something he hears? No to both. Same questions for your love of your cat. Something he sees on my person, only. If you had put on something other than your housecoat, would he be able to make these deductions? No. Are the pockets of your housecoat relevant? Or the sash that ties it together? No to both.

Is it relevant that your door has a window? Relevant that you peeked through it? Does something about your behaviour clue him in to the love of your cat or your cat's love of you? No to all.

Is Sherlock just smart enough to figure that if someone owns a pet, they must of course love them, because all pets are wonderful? ("Sherlock Holmes and the Case of 'Well, That Was an Easy Deduction'", an unpublished story.) Haha, no. Sherlock has seen too much of the darkness intrinsic in the human spirit.

SPOILER:
Sherlock Holmes sees that my house coat has cat hair on it, and that the left shoulder is especially worn.
He knows that people rarely wear their house coats ouside their own homes, so the cat hairs must be coming from inside the house.
He also knows that humans usually carry babies on the left side. But a baby wouldn't put that much wear on a coat.
Claws do, though. There exist other pets with claws, but they're usually small and vulnerable to cats, so I probably don't have one of those as well, at least not outside a cage or terrarium for extended amounts of time.
He quickly concludes that I must be carrying my cat around on my shoulder like a baby (because I love it), and that the cat has been kneading and scratching it up (because it loves me).

Thanks for playing!