my female cat thinks she is too good to use the catflap?

Question

my 5yr old cat won't use the catflap unless i prop open the door for her and even sits outside my bedroom window in the middle of the night crying for me to let her in.

she knows what it's for and how to use it as i have 3 other cats who have no problems at all with it

how can i get her to open it herself?

Answer 1

I am loving the hornby train idea, I just wanted to add if she doesn't willingly get on the train, maybe get her a train drivers hat, that should make it more tempting for her = )

Cats are stubborn fools and I doubt you will ever get her through the cat flap if she hasn't done it from being a kitten. I've gone 5 years with a cat who won't eat anything unless I stand behind her and stroke her back while she eats. I stroke, you let yours in, all in the joy of owning cats = )

Answer 2

I had the same problem with my male cat. I put the catflap in thinking it would set him free to come and go but it just became a source of anxiety to him. I think his main worry was that if he put his head out he could be attacked by another cat. If I held the door open for him, he had more control over his exit. The good news is, one day out of the blue he used it and from then on, it was no longer a problem. Give it time.

Answer 3

hi,
you may well have tried this, perhaps the cat flap wasn't fitted
when you first had the cat.Perhaps she just loves you and likes the attention you can give her allowing her to be separate from the other cats you have. Is the flap perspex so she can see you through it. if so...go outside and put her through the flap ,say only three times then feed her, with Lott's of love etc..do this for several
days if need be....when shes outside tap the cat food tin and talk to her when she arrives at the door,

Answer 4

are you letting her in each time? Is she just siting there crying for you to open the door? If so, I am tempted to say ignore her - she'll learn independance soon enough when she wants to! But knowing female cats, she will probably sulk with you for a while!

Answer 5

you may get cat flaps which will basically open from a sign in the cats collar yet i individually do in comparison to a collar on my cat. She is going out looking and as we are residing in a rural section - fields, wooded section, farm fields etc do no longer want her to get caught by the collar. My cat is going to the returned door and in simple terms stands there waiting for me to open the door and while she needs returned in jumps on the kitchen window ledge. the only thank you to renounce the undesirable cats coming in on your place is to do away with the cat flap.

Answer 6

Maybe she has an injury you don't know about and it hurts her going through the flap. The fact that she'll use it when you prop it open makes me think this.

Answer 7

When she uses the catflap reward her she deserves it ! When she doesn't hit her with a baseball bat, she'll soon pick up the habit

Answer 8

good block it so next time it tries it will bang its head...alternatively, put a small railway track suggest nornby, leading up to the cat flap, and tie the cat to a model of an inter city 125 train, put it on at full speed, and that should get it through

Answer 9

I think you will have to learn to ignore her when shes at your window, your giving yourself the problem cos she knows you will let her in thru the window, good luck !

Answer 10

why don't you just give her a key to the front door and she can come and go as she pleases without bothering you.