Can you recommend an "unpickable" locking cat flap to thwart a feline Houdini?

[Fozzleyplum]

We have an adult cat and 2 kittens. The kittens are not allowed out at all yet, and we like to keep the adult in at night as his brother was killed on the road early one morning.

We installed a Sureflap brand locking catflap with a dial at the bottom to allow various locking options.

Our very strong and cunning tomcat learned to turn the dial to let himself out. As if that wasn't enough, he then pulled the dial off! I thought I'd thwarted him by gaffer taping it into the "in but not out" position, so that during the day, he can lift the flap up to let himself out, but the kittens can't. At night, I taped the inside of the flat shut. It took him about 10 seconds to remove all the gaffer tape and get out (trailing the tape from his paws!).

I have accepted that I need to replace the flap with one that he can't pick. Any ideas please?

Fingers crossed then. Perhaps opening it last time took more out of him than he might admit so he'll settle tonight.

Perhaps.

*potap
*
Have you ever seen that nature video of that squirrel who had learned the (violently complicated) way to get at his nuts? (It's something I've been looking for but can't find so if anyone can track the original down?)

I have a feeling that Houdinicat is of the same calibre.

How did the new lock do? Did he conquer it?

Not yet. But then he did sleep.in this morning, so we'll have to see what happens tomorrow morning.

It's worked so far. I woke to the sound of Rumble twanging the lock, but he can't turn it and has gone with my suggestion that he should go back to bed with his boy.

This is very promising.

Has his failure soured him?

P S - remember to feed back to Sureflap Customer Services. They may be waiting anxiously to hear how it went!

He's not happy! He keeps getting up to see if he can get the flap open. I' ve put the bin in front of it just to demonstrate that he ought not to bother just yet and I've been miaowed at and subjected to some very black looks.

I thought he might be mean-spirited about it.

I found with The Lodger that he was fine with curfew as long as he managed to get out at a (pretty strictly) scheduled time the next morning. Maybe see if you can develop a ritual for him? An 'announcing' of the lock being opened with a clear 'Ooooppppppennnnn!' or something similar to alert him. It should only take a day or two for him to get the message with luck.

Well done anyway.

Cozie - excellent plan! That is in fact what we did before he broke the lock and he did begrudgingly accept the curfew.

I've just let him out and am watching him from my office window as he swaggers down the drive. He's has just looked round at me. If a cat could stick 2 fingers up, I reckon he would....

He clearly has a knapsack full of attitude!