Catflap company say I have a defective cat. Vet says I have a defective catflap - who is right?

[Stupiddriver1]

If anyone can solve this mystery which has been plaguing me for months I would be very grateful.

We have one middle aged cat and for years have one of those microchip catflaps which only let recognised cats in. It worked fine, including for our previous (now deceased cat).

Then we got a new cat, who is to remain a house cat. The cat flap lets any cat out so obviously this wouldn't do. We purchased a new 2 way microchip one and programmed it so only the older cat could go in and out.

Apart from she can only come in, she can't get out.

We have tried resetting it so many times and it just doesn't recognize her when she tries to leave. Is fine coming in. DH has a keyfob for work with an rfid chip in so we programmed that to the cat flap and that works in both directions.

I contacted the cat flap company who sent me another rfid chip in a ruler widget to measure how far away the range is and it's 26cm both sides so they say their cat flap is fine. I said it can't be and to shut me up they sent me a new one.

We have exactly the same problem.

I took the cat to the vet to get another chip fitted and vet wouldn't do it. She scanned the cat and the chip shows up fine. Vet says the cat flap must be faulty. But if it was faulty why would it work for 2 X Non cat inserted chips. And why would both flaps have the same issue?

It's been 4 months now since cat could let herself out.

Is it sureflap?

Microchips can migrate. Take back to the vet, ask them where the chip is! If it's not between shoulder blades or around that area, it may not scan! I've solved this for many clients before, some microchips have migrated to elbows!

Chip is where it should be - back of neck/between shoulder blades.

Yes, it's the sure flap dual scan.

Vet says the cat and the actual chip must be working or the cat wouldn't be able to come in.

I'm considering fitting the 2nd one by the side of the 1st one but the other way round. Train the cat to use one to come in and the other to go out? But it will look bonkers and be a pain to fit it and dh isn't impressed .

Are you sure it doesn't work, as opposed to she just can't be arsed to let herself out? As in; if you hold her next to it on the inside does it recognise her and unlock?

I say this because my Mum thought her cat flap was the same but the reverse, he could get out but not in. It turned out the manipulative shit just preferred to be let in by pawing at the door until he was noticed and used my Mum as a doorwoman...

I’d video it and email sureflap back. Their usually good at customer service.

It totally doesn’t work. I have got her and shoved her up to the cat flap so many times she now hides from me. There is no click of the flap unlocking and it doesn’t open if I try and push it.

I’m not sure a video would be of any use. Sureflap accept what I’m saying but are adamant it must be the cat....and a video wouldn’t make them think any differently.

The flap does have a mode where it won’t let a cat out but will let it in. So if you have a house cat you don’t want to be allowed out it won’t let it but if cat escapes by accident the cat can get back in. But I have followed the instructions carefully and so has dh.

To programme it so a cat can go in both directions you press the button until you have a green flashing light and then present the cat to the flap. Which we have done hundreds of times. Light is definitely green.

To programme it so cat can only go one way you press it twice and have a red flashing light and then present the cat to the flap. We have never had a red flashing light.

Have you tried de-programming it for the new cat, your husband's keyring etc. and purely trying to program it to let the old cat in and out? Kind of strip it back to basics and then see if you can add the 'in only' function for the new cat?

Haven’t tried that. But could Try removing the rfid fobs off it.

New cat doesn’t yet have a chip so hasn’t been involved in the cat flap drama.

Can you turn the cat flap around so out is in and in is out?

We've got the sure one with the app - you can see which cat is in/out and set different permissions for each cat. And - this might help you - you can see when a cat "looks through" the catflap and when it actually leaves or enters. Could you offer to send the second flap back to Sure and ask for an upgrade? There's definitely a technique to leaving rather than coming in because all the gubbins is inside so the cat has to be in a different position in relation to the flap than when they enter to make it click. Our cats have a lot more "looking through" moments before they leave than when they enter.

Well I’d rather have the flap working for in but not out so better this way than the other.

@waninggibbous. That’s interesting about your cats finding it harder to go out than in. Do you hear the click though as they approach to go out? Because with the rfid chip we hear the click from 26cm away.

As I understand it with the cat we should also hear the same click from a similar distance, then she has to put her head into the flap so a sensor sees something is there and then it will open. So I could accept that maybe the sensor is in a better place one side than the other and this makes it easier one way. But with the cat we don’t hear the click when she approaches it. I have literally pushed her head against the cat flap and held her there on more than one occasion.

Is it one of those with a little twiddly knob at the bottom of the catflap? Is that in the correct position? That can change the function, in out, etc.

Also, are there any transport locks that haven't been undone?

Also could there be metal in your door disrupting the signal? Have you tried taking the catflap out of the door and seeing if it works properly away from the door?

Can you not just attach a microchip to your cat collar and key in both the new chip and your cats implant? Your cat will be able to get out then and if she loses her collar can also get in as her implanted chip works coming in?

I'd put the working chip into a collar somehow as well. Leave everything else as is she can get in collarless if needed.

We’ve tried the cat flap out of the door and it still doesn’t work.

I can try a collar I guess but when she was younger she never kept a collar on her for more than a couple of weeks, she’d just come home without it. I’ve just ordered a chip from eBay so will get a collar and try that.

I trust the vet. In any case the idea of a defective cat is fiction, as none exist. It would be like saying the earth is flat or Elvis isn't dead.

Its complicated because our flap is in the wall so when they come in they have to crawl through the tunnel towards the flap so are approaching relatively slowly from a fixed angle so the sensor picks them up every time.
When they try to go out they can approach the flap from any angle and at varying speed, and you can hear it only clicks when they are in exactly the correct position - very close up. If I were to be manually posting them, they would have to have nose on flap before it clicks. I've just tested it, you owe me a few Dreamies

I have nothing useful to add except that our cat's catflap (which doesn't need to unlock for her to get out only to get back in) doesn't always recognise her on the way out. Sometimes it 'unlocks' (by which I mean the plastic things go down) but not always. May be the angle as the cat approaches it is wrong

Whereas she can sit outside with it unlocking and locking and unlocking for several minutes and not make any useful effort to open the damn thing and come back in the house. But that's another story

As it works on the way in, it must be the sensor on the inside that's somehow not working correctly. I would also suggest resetting it completely and trying to programme her chip to it in again and see how that goes. They do have that "indoor cat" setting that allows them in but not out, could be that?

The cat's chip must be fine if the vet's scanner picks it up and the catflap works one way too.

Are you friendly with a neighbour with cats? Can you borrow a chipped cat to see if it's the same with all cats or just your cat?

"defective cat"

If the angle is critical, could you put a box over the flap, to make a tunnel, to correctly position the cat?

@safariboot, so glad it's not just me that laughed at defective cat. Brilliant.