Why may an open window make a cat patrol more?

Answer: New smells and sounds arrive

New smells and sounds arrive ✓ — Correct! An open window turns the room into an information port. Outdoor smells, birds, other cats, traffic sounds, and moving shadows can all arrive at once. A cat may patrol not because it is nervous, but because its territory suddenly contains more data to inspect.

Fresh air teaches map reading — Wrong. Fresh air does not teach map reading. But it can carry scent trails and sound cues that tell the cat something has changed outside its usual indoor bubble.

The window assigns guard duty — Wrong. The window is not assigning guard duty, though cats often behave like tiny unpaid security staff. The useful idea is that new sensory cues can trigger monitoring and territory-checking behavior.