Cat Flap Training

[justagimmick]

Hi all, wonder if you could give me some advice.

I have been trying to get my cat Belle to use the cat flap, started by having it propped opened all the time (when I'm home) and she had no issue with it.  As soon as its shut, nothing would bring her to use it (food, treats, praise and encouragement).

Imagine my joy when I came home from shift to find her out in the garden to greet me! Not just once, but twice.  And then actually seeing her use said flap! 

Alas, joy faded quickly when I realised she will go OUT but not IN.

My other cat uses the flap no problem.

How can I encourage her to use it both ways?  They are not indoor cats, they have a secure garden and a very quiet neighbourhood to explore.  Belle loves being outside, but I worry that she goes out and stays out when I'm not home (especially as I work long shifts).  She let herself out this morning whilst I slept after a night shift, and was napping on the rabbit hutch when I got up...having been outside 8+hours.  

I have a sureflap microchip catflap, which is currently sans batteries as I thought the locking mechanism may have been putting her off if that is useful to know.

Thanks in advance =]

 

[betsygee]

I have one of those sureflap cat doors, too.  I love the curfew feature on it.  How long have you had the door?  We worked with our cats to get them used to it--hubby would be on one side of the door and I'd be on the other side, and we guided them through it several times.  Two of the cats had no problem with it.  It took my 'scaredy cat' Ozzy awhile to get used to the clicking noise but he eventually got used to it.  

 

[talkingpeanut]

Are both of your cats fixed? That would be my first step before letting them outside.

Then I would do reward training to get them used to the cat door. Putting something super delicious on either side as a treat when they get through until they get used to it.

 

[justagimmick]

I've had the flap longer than I've had Belle. It was easy to train Freddie as it was just him and I didn't have competition for treats! (He steals them from her!)   When I try to entice her with treats Freddie tends to swipe them and she just sits there.  She's not overly motivated by food, even at dinner time when Freddie is going crackers she will just sit quietly by her bowl and wait. 

Both cats are spayed/neutered, I would never let them out otherwise. 

 

[betsygee]

 
I've had the flap longer than I've had Belle. It was easy to train Freddie as it was just him and I didn't have competition for treats! (He steals them from her!)   When I try to entice her with treats Freddie tends to swipe them and she just sits there.  She's not overly motivated by food, even at dinner time when Freddie is going crackers she will just sit quietly by her bowl and wait. 

Both cats are spayed/neutered, I would never let them out otherwise. 

Most of the articles I've read talk about using treats to train them, but I found that showing them how to use it worked best.  I put their paw on the door and showed them they could push it, and then gently pushed them through.  Maybe you can teach her how to get back in the house by showing her that she can use her head/paws to push the flap in.

 

[ohws]

 
I have a sureflap microchip catflap, which is currently sans batteries as I thought the locking mechanism may have been putting her off if that is useful to know.

Thanks in advance =]

There is your answer. If it is this one: https://www.sureflap.com/en-gb/pet-doors/microchip-cat-flap - it scans on entry. If there are no batteries, it will not scan and will not release for entry.

 

[justagimmick]

Oh, no.  You can set the sureflaps to not need batteries, leaving them unlocked for any cat to use.  I've just replaced the door today as the mechanism had started to fail so the door had been unlocked, not requiring any scanning.

In typical cat fashion, she learnt to get back in and now she uses it as she wants.  Unless mum's home, then she wants door service! =D

Thank you for the advice! Cats always seem to sort their selves out once you've resorted to asking for help.

 

[betsygee]

 
Oh, no.  You can set the sureflaps to not need batteries, leaving them unlocked for any cat to use.  I've just replaced the door today as the mechanism had started to fail so the door had been unlocked, not requiring any scanning.

In typical cat fashion, she learnt to get back in and now she uses it as she wants.  Unless mum's home, then she wants door service! =D

Thank you for the advice! Cats always seem to sort their selves out once you've resorted to asking for help.

Oh, I'm glad she figured it out!  

  I know what you mean about the door service--my cats are completely familiar with the cat flap, but it's so much more fun to have mom get up from what she's doing to open the sliding glass door for them 

   (which, of course, they have me perfectly trained to do).  

 

[magister]

Hmm; I've one of the Microchip Sureflaps (the largest), and have given up completely on getting Nimrod to come in via the flap. The two girls go in and out, but he simply will not come in, no matter what I try. He's not concerned with the click, since it tends to activate for both cycles, even though the thing will scan only for entry (appalling design flaw, IMO; why it can't scan for both directions as do all the others in their range is utterly beyond me! ). He will go out happily, but he simply refuses to use it to come in. Very bizarre!

Still, at least your problem is sorted.

 

[ohws]

Hmm; I've one of the Microchip Sureflaps (the largest), and have given up completely on getting Nimrod to come in via the flap. The two girls go in and out, but he simply will not come in, no matter what I try. He's not concerned with the click, since it tends to activate for both cycles, even though the thing will scan only for entry (appalling design flaw, IMO; why it can't scan for both directions as do all the others in their range is utterly beyond me!

). He will go out happily, but he simply refuses to use it to come in. Very bizarre!

Still, at least your problem is sorted.

I would not class it as a design flaw - it does allow any intruder to make an escape. So if a stranger has tailgated in hot pursuit of your cat, you wouldn't want it to be confined with your cat, you would want it to be able to escape.

There is however a 'dual scan' model of the catflap, which scans on both entry and exit. I think this one is larger for small dogs too.

 

[magister]

[CONTENTEMBED=/t/317176/cat-flap-training#post_3980480 layout=inline]I would not class it as a design flaw - it does allow any intruder to make an escape. So if a stranger has tailgated in hot pursuit of your cat, you wouldn't want it to be confined with your cat, you would want it to be able to escape.

True, but it would have been a simple matter to have made the thing dual-scan and included a setting that would allow either scanner to be disabled.

There is however a 'dual scan' model of the catflap, which scans on both entry and exit. I think this one is larger for small dogs too.

Unfortunately, unless it's been updated in the last six months, that model lacks a lot of features: no curfew mode; much more crude manual lock (can't be controlled via the panel); no (or very limited) LCD. But most importantly, IMO it's verging on being too small for large cats.


My two girls are part Turkish Van, and one at least looks like she's going to be absolutely huge; at eleven months, already Rîna has almost reached Nimrod's size, and he's nearly 14 lb. She hasn't yet filled out, and isn't as heavy, but I think she would have had real trouble with the smaller cat flap if she keeps shooting up as she's doing.


I did look at the Pet Porte, which I'm pretty certain was dual-scan and definitely included a curfew mode. But it had too many other problems: some features disabled when using batteries, plus warnings from some concerning cats being trapped or worse, caught in the flap.

 

[betsygee]

I'd love to have the dual scan mode door.  We have three indoor/outdoor cats and then we took in one older kitty who's indoor only.  It would be wonderful to be able to keep her in while letting the others go in and out.  But @Magister  is right--at this point, they're only making it in the smaller size which just wouldn't work for our big boy Ozzy.  I had emailed the company about it when the dual scan door first came out and they said that for the moment, they have no plans to make it in the larger size.  

I didn't know it doesn't have the curfew feature, either--that would be a deal breaker for me as well.  I LOVE that curfew feature.   

 

[magister]

I'd love to have the dual scan mode door.  We have three indoor/outdoor cats and then we took in one older kitty who's indoor only.  It would be wonderful to be able to keep her in while letting the others go in and out.

Exactly. I ended up having to wait months longer than I'd intended to get the door, as I had no way to keep the new kittens inside whilst allowing Nimrod to come and go as he pleased; had to hold off until they were old enough to be allowed out safely. Conversely, it's a damned nuisance not to have a ‘Vet Mode’, as Nimrod is frightened of strangers, and being able to keep him from bolting outside when the vet visited, again whilst allowing the kittens to come and go, would have made things a lot easier.


Fortunately, it turns out Nimrod absolutely loves the carriers. I took a tip from a post here(?)…Jackson Galaxy(?)…can't recall just now, that suggested leaving them open and accessible all the time, and it worked superbly well, when everything else I'd tried was a disaster. He's never happier than when he's taking a good long kip in one of them. Pick him up; put him down; wander all over the place with him; bang the front or top carrier door open and closed! It just doesn' matter; he couldn't possibly care less; just lies there completely content, eyes half closed, purring away for all he's worth.

But @Magister
 is right--at this point, they're only making it in the smaller size which just wouldn't work for our big boy Ozzy.  I had emailed the company about it when the dual scan door first came out and they said that for the moment, they have no plans to make it in the larger size.

Yep; utterly incomprehensible IMO.

I didn't know it doesn't have the curfew feature, either--that would be a deal breaker for me as well.  I LOVE that curfew feature.   

M'hmm; another reason their decision not to make the newer, larger door dual-scan simply makes no sense.