How long did it take you cat

[GorgeousLadyofWrestling]

To figure out the cat flap?

It was installed nearly a week ago and they’re still acting like it’s a portal to another world.

We have four. One of them has just about worked out she can push the flap up to come in. She hasn’t worked out she can do the same to go out. The other three are even more useless, and just sit next to it and wait for me to shove them through head first.

They will happily shove their heads in any kind of dark hole they find like a cardboard box or the time we took the panel off the bath and they wouldn’t come out. But this is apparently mystifying them.

This is the sole reason I spent nearly £300 - we’re going on holiday and they love being outside but I can’t expect our cat sitter to make sure all four are going in and out for two weeks. In particular our youngest, who will be about 15 months when we go, but is absolutely terrified of being outside by herself but if there’s a window open, she’s more comfortable going in and out. If she thinks she can’t get back in, she panics. So I thought - a cat flap is the answer!

God they’re so annoying 😂 Worked out how to scramble up blinds and out of a high window but an exit/ entry system in a door? Nope.

They will happily shove their heads in any kind of dark hole they find like a cardboard box

Tape the flap open and attach an open ended cardboard box to the door. Decorate the box like a portal to another world...

I remember spending hours with one of my first cats flipping the flap back and forth whilst he looked on blankly. He did get it eventually.

My current cats just got it right away but this might be because the rescue they came from had cat flaps in the pens so they'd been taught by their mother.

Kept the flap open with a clothes peg on one side and gradually moved the peg down to the bottom. Eventually she got the hang of it. Not very bright Maine coon she used to come in so slowly she'd leave it open. Got followed by a tom that peed on my cookery books on a low shelf.
Then moved house and country and she had slaves to open the front door for her.

Ours took a little while but not too long. We realised that the drop to the garden from the catflap was just a bit too daunting for her, so we put a couple of paving slabs down and now she knows what she's doing. Also bribe with treats.
Having said that, sometimes the lazy mare will just sit in the kitchen staring at the catflap until one of her servants pushes it open for her, or sometimes the back door is open and she'll still use the catflap that she has to squeeze behind the OPEN door to access. Gotta love her! 🙈🙄🤣

This is what my cat likes to do when it’s raining outside

@TwoBlueFish, love it! Just like us, noseying out at the rain 😍

Nosying?

Propped it open today as it’s been warmer and less artic winds whistling through. They’ve all gone in and out frequently throughout the day. Now they just sit at it and wait for someone to open it though 🤦🏻‍♀️

First cat just used it by himself as soon as it was put in. My husband had shown him the instructions though.

The second one only had to be pushed through it once.