Need help with cat using Doggy door

Hey guys. It's my first time here so please a little help.

My sotory is this:

About a year ago my sister gave me a kitten about 5 weeks old because the past owner did not wanted anymore. I loved the idea of a kitty and took her in. Everything has gone great, she is now 1 year old and behaves great.

The only problem I have is I just got a doggie door about 3 days ago and installed it. I used to leave the dor half open so she could go in/out. Now this is the problem that I have. She is very scared of the flap. If she is outside then she will slowly come through the door, but if she is inside the house she will not use it. My cat will paw the flap smell it and walk away.

I have tried putting her food out on the other side, toys. me calling her etc. It will work from outside in, but not the other way around. Now If I hold the flap half way up, or all the way up she'l use it, but not if the flap is all the way down. How can I get her to use it? I was thinking about trying latnip what do you guys suggest.

Thank you for your help.
Gabriel

Just as a warning, most members of this board are big into the idea of indoor-only cats, so you will be regaled with advice on how much better the indoor only life is!

If you've only had the dog-door for three days, it's not surprising that your cat isn't yet extremely comfortable with it. That will come with time. If the cat can go one way, the cat can go both ways and will eventually figure that out. I don't think you actually need to DO anything, other than wait.

Isn't it good that the cat can get in, though? If it's raining, or the cat is being chased, she'll be able to get to safety (although, depending on your set-up, unwanted animals can also get inside). As long as you keep a litter box inside (which is always a good back-up to have anyway), what's wrong with the cat only using the door on the way in?

Originally Posted by Eregos

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The only problem I have is I just got a doggie door about 3 days ago and installed it. I used to leave the dor half open so she could go in/out. Now this is the problem that I have. She is very scared of the flap. If she is outside then she will slowly come through the door, but if she is inside the house she will not use it. My cat will paw the flap smell it and walk away.

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Sounds like she doesn't trust it yet being used to the half open door where she didn't have to do anything to enter or exit the house. Has she ever been startled by it or maybe stuck while in the process of going out? It will take time to overcome her mistrust. Keep using the toy/treat trick and perhaps she will decide to use it. But I must warn you, she may never like it either.

Originally Posted by Enuja

Just as a warning, most members of this board are big into the idea of indoor-only cats, so you will be regaled with advice on how much better the indoor only life is!

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Ehh, some of us adopted outdoor strays and some of those strays don't use litter boxes. They go outside like dogs do. (Fenced in yards come in handy in such situations.)

Originally Posted by Enuja

If you've only had the dog-door for three days, it's not surprising that your cat isn't yet extremely comfortable with it. That will come with time. If the cat can go one way, the cat can go both ways and will eventually figure that out. I don't think you actually need to DO anything, other than wait.?

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Your advice here is right on target. My kitty first learned to use the door to get outside. He didn't realize he could also come inside the same way. It probably took about 6 weeks before he learned to come indoors on his own.