Getting my cat to use the cat flap. Any suggestions?

[FenellaFellorick]

She wants us to leave the window open all the time. We want her to use the cat flap. Obviously we are losing.

We've tried putting her through - and won't be doing that again. She was really pissed off!

We tried feeding her toys through.

We tried having one of us either side, passing things through to each other.

We tried standing outside and pulling a piece of string through.

We tried propping it open.

She stands and looks at it but refuses to go through it.

Any ideas?

Wait till food time ,shut her out,open it up and call her.

Is your cat's name Mog?!? (if you haven't already, you must read mog by Judith kerr.)

Could you put treats just inside the flap when she's out? Something nice and fishy so she can smell it. And maybe spray some cat repellent around the window.

Obviously close the window too...

I didn't think of that

or that.

food. Of course. doh.

Hope it works!

Stand firm. If you back down & open a window she's won.

She quite likely knows how to use one because they'll go into other cats cat flaps when they're out & about.

It's just hers she doesn't want to use.

On one of the cat programs on telly is suggested that some cats won't use them if they feel too exposed on the outside. They put a small bench over it and some plants or something for her to hide in when she goes out. Can she see through it?

We used bits of treats, chicken breast to tempt them through it.

Yes, she can see through it. The back door is quite sheltered but I'll try making it a bit more so, see if that helps.

We are total soft touches tbh. Our last cat used to yell for us and we'd come through and hold the cat flap open. I don't really fancy 20 more years of that

So if you have it held open completely does she not use it then? Or is it just the pushing the flap she doesn't like? My parents had their cat flap held open with a rubber band for years because of their cats didn't like pushing the flap - he used it fine then, although it did lead to a bit of a draft!

My pair came from a shelter so had used a flap before there (I think) but they were reluctant at first - I got them used to the idea by holding the flap open with clothes pegs, and moved the pegs along the flap so it required more and more pushing until eventually I took them off completely. The only problem there is that when the pegs were lower down it effectively meant the flap only opened one-way, so it had to be under supervision and the pegs switched around once the cat had gone through.

she won't go through it at all.

Try patiently waving some ham/treat of choice back and forth. On the other side of cat-flap.

My boy cat won't use ours if we are in, he knocks on it with his paw. However waving a bag of dreamies normally makes him shoot through it like he's got a rocket up his bum.