I live in a mid-terrace house with back to back style gardens. These are shared by lots of cats who inevitably have some territory issues. When we got our cat three years ago we installed a micro-chip cat flap in the back door which works well in keeping other cats out of the house.
My problem is that over the last six months my cat has been out in the back garden less and less, and now almost exclusively wants to go outside via the front door of the house. This change has tied in with an enormous new cat showing up in our back garden most days which I think is scaring her away from our own garden.
I am not too worried about her safety outside of the front of the house, although it's obviously not ideal that she is near the street. It is more that she now has to be let in and out, so when we're at work she is stuck in or out of the house all day. This could be a big problem when we are away/on holiday as we have a friend who comes round to feed her but obviously cannot be here to let her in and out of the front door all day!
I am considering putting a cat flap in the front door but that seems a bit barmy. Does anyone have other advice? She is very much an outdoor cat and wouldn't tolerate being kept in.