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.

I have nothing useful to add but love the thought of "posting" cats through cat flaps. Especially defective cats

Turn the cat off and on again?

VenusClapTrap

WeBuiltCisCityOnSexistRoles
I was sure the manual used the phrase "post your cat" but it actually says "Persuade your cat" in the one I found online.

I think my manual says post your cat! 😁

Ours is in the wall so yes she has a tunnel to get through to come back in so maybe that’s getting her in the right position. I’m going to see tomorrow if I can make a tunnel on the inside.

I’ve definitely got her nose to flap when trying to post her through.

I don't have cats or a cat flap, I've never had them and probably never will but I'm very invested in this situation.

when trying to post her through

How are you not scratched to ribbons?

Try shooing her away from the cat flap and saying a firm 'no' every time she goes near it. In my experience, the result will be that you can't keep her away from it!

When you said you'd programmed it with the green lights flashing which should mean she can both come and go, perhaps the flap (or instructions) are wrong, try programming it when the red lights are flashing.
Or video her coming in (when it works) and then try posting her back out, proving it doesn't work.
I'm sure your cat is not the only 'defective cat' out there. Perhaps they can see where it's going wrong from watching the video.

We had 3 Sureflaps before we eventually got one that worked. Make a fuss and ask for a new one!

We have the same cat flap and it has stopped letting the cat out, but will let her in. We de-programmed it as she thought she was trapped inside as it didn't click in response to her chip. I took her for boosters recently and thought maybe her chip had migrated, but no it's in the same place it always was. Haven't got round to resetting the cat flap and trying again, but it's the same problem you're having.

We have this one but with the App. As Barbara says at the bottom is a twiddly knob which overrides any settings
Have you checked this is correct?

Otherwise totally resetting and adding only 2 way cat to start with could be the way forward.

Have you got anything electronic near the cat flap? We had a table lamp nearby with a dimmer switch and it if was turned on the cat flap wouldn't work!

So now I have a dark corner but a happy cat!

It does sound like it's cat related if the rfid chip thing works.

Does the cat have a straight angle of approach to the inside? If it works in the tunnel can you put a "roof" over the approach to simulate the same angle from the inside?

(I may be clutching at straws here!)

I am far too invested in the Case of the Defective Cat!

Have just checked the twiddle thing at the bottom and that’s set to open both ways. Nothing electrical anywhere near the flap.

The cat flap picks the rfid keyfob up from 25cm away....I hear the click from quite a distance. So I’d expect that with the cat and get nothing even when she is nose to flap. So not sure it’s her approach angle.

Do you have led light bulbs? Our dab radio stopped working when I put led lights on.

No led lightbulbs.

It’s in the dining room part of the kitchen diner and there’s nothing electrical in the dining room. The nearest thing to it from the kitchen is the kettle and that’s about 7ft away.

I can see the cat flap company's point of view given both flaps work fine with with everything other than the cat.

Other Cat has probably sabotaged it.

When did you get the cat? Is she still in warranty?

Sadly she's well out of warranty.

We have a small side table in front of the cat flap which means she has to bend down to get to the cat flap. It doesn't click anywhere near like 25cm away but when her head's in front of it, it does.

Do those cat flaps also work with a magnetic collar? Might be worth trying if so. Or put the RFID thingy they sent you on a collar??

I've just ordered a rfid chip from ebay for £1.80. If this works with the cat flap I'm going to try putting it in one of those metal things you can put on a collar to put a piece of paper in.

Failing that it comes with the injector and I might see if there are any youtube videos about putting chips in and try and rechip the defective cat myself.

😳

That’s a joke right?.

I really wouldn't try to rechip a cat myself. I've seen it done dozens of times (rescue cat fosterer) but surely the risk of it going wrong and injuring the cat is real, plus they'd quite rightly try to exact their revenge.

Failing that it comes with the injector and I might see if there are any youtube videos about putting chips in and try and rechip the defective cat myself. Jesus no. It's illegal to microchip without having the correct qualification due to the potential harm. You inject it wrong, you could paralyse your cat ffs.

Am I the only person who thought the OP was joking?