Advice on training a cat to use a cat flap?

Question

Hello,
We've had our cat a few months and he's still not confident on using his cat flap on his own. He tends to miaow very loudly at the back door to be let in instead.
We've tried holding titbits and treats each side of the cat flap to encourage him, but he appears nervous of pushing it himself (it's magnetic and make a 'snap' noise when it closes that I think scares him!).
Any advice? It'll be really nice when he gets the hang of it as he can then gain his complete independence!
Thanks in advance,..... :-)

CatLover - thanks for answering, but I'm from the UK and we generally let out cat outdoors here. We live in a very quiet area, and our house backs onto fields. He LOVES going outside, and who am I to deny him his freedom?!!

Answer 1

First thing I would do is put a strip of tape over the magnet
so as to quiet it down. I would then use a string tied to his
favorite toy and get him started playing with it and chasing
it. Then when he is fully involved in play have someone on
the other side of the door pull the toy through the cat flap
and let him chase it. Once he dose that a few times in each
direction he may overcome his fear of what's on the other
side. If not you may have to bore a whole in the flap so he
can see what's on the other side before he will use it.
The string and toy thing should work. Another tip. Don't open
the door for him. Secure a string to the inside of the cat flap
and when he wants in you can open the flap a little at a time
until he starts through it. After a few times you can let it rest
on his back as he inters. Please remember that every time
you open the door because of his loud meowing you only
reinforce his undesirable behavior. You might also try
propping the flap half open a few times.The direction is also
important. It should be the way the cat wants to go. If that's
the only things that works then you can make the prop a
little shorter every two or three days. I can just see him out
side the door shouting " CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?".
Love the kitty. I hope one of the ideas works for you.
Good luck.

Answer 2

Try it with two people, one to gently guide him through from behind and one to coax with treats from the other side of the door. If that doesn't work, you may have to replace it with a rubber cat flap that just hangs, without the magnetic frame. This type has a blocking panel that slides in when you want to keep him in the house or when you go on vacation. Do be aware that some of the larger cat door openings can be entered on the diagonal by a skinny child. This was handy on a couple of occasions when we locked ourselves out of the house, but the same idea might occur to a thief.

Answer 3

hi, i'm in the uk too so no worries about me advising you not to let your cat out! are you SURE he doesn't use the flap when you are around? all of my cats have very quickly learned that if they sit by the flap and meow at me i will let them in or out of the door, however, i know for a fact that they use the flap freely when i'm not home! cats are masters at getting their own way and quickly learn to train us to do what they want!!

when you say its a magnetic flap do you mean its one of those exclusive entry ones, ie the cat has to wear a magnet on his collar to make it work - if so you could try taking the batteries out. they are designed so that if the battery runs out the flap is then accessible wether the cat has the magnet on its collar or not - i have found that they are more easily opened and close more quitely when the magnet is disabled. you could try this and then tempt him through with treats as before - if he starts to be more confident as the flap is not snapping closed then this is a good start. you can leave it like this for a few days so he gets more confidence and then replace the battery - he should be used to it by then. good luck!

Answer 4

Getting a cat to do something it doesn't want to... that's a tough one! Have you heard the saying: a dog will come when you call, but for a cat leave a message and it will get back to you later...

Anyway, your question: the first thing I would do is deactivate the magnet. If that seems to be the main cause of his nervousness, then eliminate it. Get him used to using the cat door without any loud or sudden noises. Use treats at first, but don't rely on them for too long - don't train him to expect a treat very time he uses the door. You may be able to activate the magnet again later.

Remember too that cats are great jumpers. Can you leave a window open for him instead of the cat door? Of course, that depends where you live... leaving an open window might not always be a great idea ;)

I hope you two come to an agreement. Give him a pat from me :)

Answer 5

it ought to take it sluggish yet while can get yet somebody else that can assist you the better this is. sit down one individual the two area of the kitty flap have the two a conventional toy or some tasty foodstuff (the stinky the better!) and initiate out with you calling kittys call from the different area of the flap showing him toy/foodstuff throughout the time of the flap and as quickly as kitty has long previous however the flap then the different individual does an identical and so on until eventually kitty has re-found out a thank you to apply it. On a known be conscious have you ever appeared on the section by way of the flap purely in case there is a few ingredient around/close to it that kitty would not like?

Answer 6

What we did was push our cat through a couple of times, his food being on the other side. After 2 or 3 times he started doing it himself with no problem.

Answer 7

Try to get rid of the snapping noise, then he mite use it.

Answer 8

Maybe he is a smart cat and knows that going outside is a very dangerous thing and he doesn't want to become a statistic.

If you really love your cat then you will keep him inside where he will be safe, happy, and healthy. If you don't, then you will keep torturing the poor guy and forcing him out there to die.