Cat refuses to come out of the laundry

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Hiya everybody :) Our youngest cat, Smokey, refuses to come out of the laundry and into the house. Smokey used to come inside when the kids were at school and my partner was at work. He used to be a real skitish cat as he was dumped when he was just a kitten. Smokey was really coming out of his shell during the second half of last year and was becoming quiet cheeky just before everything changed. My partner's Uncle came over from England for a month over the Christmas period. Had I known before he arrived that he didn't like cats, he wouldn't have stayed for a month, believe me. Smokey refused to come inside. Our other cat, Allegro, still came inside but kept to the kitchen area where I was most of the time. Although, looking back, Allegro wasn't allowed inside too often because there was a chance that she would escape as the Uncle wasn't too concerned about keeping the doors closed all the time. We tried to get Smokey inside but he would just sit at the laundry door and wail, loudly! The wails would become more frantic the longer we left him and he would start to jump up at the door handle, willing it to open. So, we figured that it was easier for all concerned if Smokey stayed in the laundry. After the Uncle flew off to New Zealand in mid-January and my partner went back to work, Smokey was back to normal again. But, two weeks later, my partner stopped working and has been home ever since. Poor Smokey cannot handle this massive change in routine and is freaked out that my partner is home full time at the moment. My partner is saddened by this and tries very hard to be friends with Smokey but to no avail. Smokey was fine with him before but only at night and early in the morning. It seems as if this change in routine has really upset the cat. Argh! It's doing my head in. The cat would much rather stay in the laundry, looking out the back door at the dog. In the laundry, we can pat him and pick him up, no problems. It's just when he comes inside at the moment, he starts carrying on. Any advice?