Learning to outsmart a cat

Since getting our two young kittens, now full grown, in September, we have made it a habit of separating them from us and Choko every night.  There are various reasons for this...Choko, as the eldest and First Cat, deserves and needs some alone time with us--the young ones try to butt in any time he asks for attention.  He also needs an extra feeding time--he lived for almost 12 years without set meal-times, so he's simply not used to eating a full serving when it's served...he'll let it linger and will nibble on it until it's gone over the course of a few hours--but give the young ones access to it for even a minute and it'll be gone, leaving him hungry.  Beyond that, Stevie and Graham don't yet have all the little household rules like no-jumping-on-counters-or-tabletops, and they tend to keep us up with their tickle-y whiskers and perfectly (painfully) placed paws on a belly if they have access to us when we sleep (Daddy's occasional couch-naps offer a prime example of this).  SO.  All that to say, they stay in the front livingroom area while Choko has full range of our bedroom and the back of the house, and all is well for the night.

Except that little Stevie MUST HAVE HIS PEOPLE.  He hates to be separated even for a few moments, and he's discovered that, while he can't prevent that door from closing on him, he can at least postpone it.  He hides under our bed.  The funny part is that it's ridiculously easy to get him back out again to catch him...he's just not quite smart enough to stay put and REALLY cause a problem (of course, if he were, he'd be getting a spray bottle in his face instead)!  Rattle a feather toy in its holder, and he'll be at your side in a moment, the dreaded Bedtime completely forgotten.  Press a button that beeps on a laser pointer, and he's out from under the bed before the light has even hit the floor.  And then he'll follow you wherever you go, not even realizing (or not caring) that you're leading him right to where he doesn't want to be.  Lately, I've even started being able to preempt his hiding routine...I close the bedroom door when he least expects it.  This is trickier than it sounds...Our bed is Choko's favored spot and I don't want to close him out, so I can't do it too early in the evening (he will complain LOUDLY in the hall just outside the Munch's room if I do), but I also can't do it as I'm preparing for bed because Stevie understands that process, and will make a beeline for the door and slide in even AS I'm closing it.  He often lies in wait next to that door when the evening is getting later, anticipating when I might try to get him, and making good his escape when he sees me coming.  But slowly, slowly, I am figuring this out.  Tonight's closure was perfectly timed...he didn't suspect a thing until it was too late!  A silly thing to crow over, perhaps...but this is life with cats, after all.  They are experts at keeping their humans humble. ;)