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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

My cats are too lazy to go through the cat flap!

12 replies

girlwhowearsglasses · 31/10/2017 13:18

They are bengals and came to me as young adults - I don’t know what their life was like before here but they did go out.

I let them out because they’re only stopped peeing everywhere since I put the litter tray outside Hmm.

There are two doors between indoors and out and I’ve had to tape up the flaps as they won’t go through! One flap fell down today and I just tried to post a cat through it - totally not having any of it!

Lazy buggers - I thought bengals were outgoing and ingenious

OP posts:
abbsisspartacus · 31/10/2017 13:21

No advice but 😂 at posting the cat 😂😂

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 31/10/2017 13:25

They are ingenious. They’ve managed to work how to get you to do it for them Grin

VeganIan · 31/10/2017 14:23

Could you line the cat flap with something like this: a scratchy thing
or
a cat tunnel

OutrageousFlavourLikeFreesias · 31/10/2017 14:28

I have no solutions but loads of sympathy! My two moggies are perfectly able to work the cat flap but they prefer to stand in the hallway and yell for me to open the door. I tried posting them too. It did not go well. Now I just open the door when they ask.

MycatsaPirate · 31/10/2017 14:36

This made me laugh. They clearly know who is boss!

We had a cat flap at our old house. Boy cat would not use the cat flap unless we were out. He would sit at the back door and batter the flap with his head or paw until we opened the door. Just pure arsehole cat behaviour when we know fine well he was able to use it himself.

We don't have a cat flap in this house so I have to keep getting up to get them in/out. Weird thing is that the back door on the conservatory was seemingly opening all by itself and I kept blaming dp or DD2 for not closing it properly.

Mystery solved today. DD1 is home and said she had let boy cat 2 out and closed the door. She was in the kitchen and looked through to see one of the girl cats sat on the cat tree, lean over and lean on the handle to open the door with her paw to let boy cat 2 back in!!

I had a word with her about the heating bill. (cat not DD1)

Original poster
girlwhowearsglasses · 31/10/2017 14:40

I like the 'scratchy thing', not sure it woudl work. Initially I was sprinkling Dreamies on both sides of flap but I've drawn a line under that on the grounds of Taking the Piss. Even the dog knows to put his head through and 'sing' at me to come in.

OP posts:
crimsonlake · 31/10/2017 16:46

Mine seem to be able to get in through the cat flap but want to be let out through the patio doors. Drives me crazy as I have 3 and I am up and down like a yo yo.

cakesandphotos · 31/10/2017 17:05

Our stupid cat can work a cat flap perfectly normally, so long as it’s from the outside. When he’s inside going out, he thinks the cat flap needs to be pulled towards him. Cue several very irritating minutes of the cat flap being pulled open, dropped and scratched at repeatedly. He’s wrecked the magnets on two.

Can you shut them out and see if they’ll come in from outside? Particularly if it’s tea time

SilverSpot · 31/10/2017 17:57

Mine took months to use the cat flap. Ended up in a mexican stand off battle of wills where I refused to let him out thru the door, but posted him out of the cat flap then went outside and gave him some tuna, and the same for coming back in.

After about a week of him going stir crazy during the say in the house and me posting him in/out with a tuna reward his FINALLY got it.

I also read on here that they might feel exposed as they can't see out, so I moved some pot plants to give screening around the cat flap so he goes out, then sits and looks thru the plants before going into the garden.

SilverSpot · 31/10/2017 17:58

Honestly I could have written your post about having to have the flap taped open and the freaking out about being posted through. I thought he was never going to use it.

If you can do some serious reward after a successful post it seems to help. I also sprayed some catnip spray on the flap but that didn't seem to help.

Briette · 31/10/2017 20:37

One of mine wouldn't get it for weeks. I almost went crazy having to tape it open all the time or he'd just sit next to it looking vexed all day long. Then one day, it was lightly raining and I let him out, before following him out and locking the door to go out to the market. By the time I got back (only 15mins later) he'd let himself back in and was watching me comfortably from the lounge. He's now able to use it in both directions but makes a face like he's being tortured as he pushes it with his nose. I don't know why, because he's not shy about ramming his nose everywhere else it doesn't belong!

SilverSpot · 31/10/2017 22:42

He's now able to use it in both directions but makes a face like he's being tortured as he pushes it with his nose.

+1!!!

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