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

Original poster

How do you keep your cats in at night?

23 replies

TheSecondOfHerName · 02/02/2018 16:51

Missy (the v.petite one year old cat we adopted 8 weeks ago) has recently started venturing out into the garden during the day. These were rather timid excursions which she would only attempt in my presence.

Today she saw off a visiting cat that was twice her size, and is suddenly much more enthusiastic about patrolling her territory. She has been in and out of the catflap all afternoon.

We feed her between 4 and 4.30pm, and we need her to stay in after that meal for safety reasons. Reason 1: We live on a road which is quiet during the day but gets very busy at rush hour, and she can access this from the back garden via neighbours' gardens. Reason 2: We live in the area covered by the cat killer, so I want her in before it gets dark.

She came in for dinner...

I locked the catflap. She scratched at it until she (accidentally?) unlocked it.

I tried covering the catflap with mesh and adhesive Velcro. She clawed at the cover and got her claws caught in it.

I've resorted to moving the cat barrel to block the catflap. Does anyone have any more sustainable ideas?

OP posts:
Original poster
TheSecondOfHerName · 02/02/2018 16:54

Obligatory photo

How do you keep your cats in at night?
OP posts:
scurryfunge · 02/02/2018 16:58

Could you tape over the lock so she can't get at it? Is there another door you can close to stop access to the back door?

phoebemac · 02/02/2018 17:00

Can you feed her later, she might be more inclined to stay in?

phoebemac · 02/02/2018 17:01

She is lovely btw!

MsHomeSlice · 02/02/2018 17:02

i know this sounds crazy but idiotcat comes in within about half an hour of his curfew...I am always yelling out the window after him..."Be back by teatime/six o clock/half past four" ...and he is back

like a feral nine year old. :o

However on a more practical note if she is keen to go out I wouldn't feed her at half four before she goes out, I'd make her wait for her tea until she comes home.

Original poster
TheSecondOfHerName · 02/02/2018 17:06

The back door is in the kitchen, which is where she eats and sleeps.

I might put some duct tape over the lock of the catflap tonight, although it's going to get a bit sticky if we're putting it on there every evening.

OP posts:
RandomMess · 02/02/2018 17:08

She will get used to the routine. Ours are shut in overnight in a room where the cat flap isn't but previously they weren't they just accepted they weren't allowed out after awhile.

Original poster
TheSecondOfHerName · 02/02/2018 17:14

We're feeding her at 4.30 because we need her in before rush hour (our road is used by commuters driving from the nearby town to the M25 to get home).

By far the biggest risk to her is being run over during the times the road is busy (7.30 to 9.30 and 4.30 to 6.30).

In the summer, when it's light in the late evening, I'd be OK with her going out again from 6.30ish until dusk, but it's nowhere light enough for that yet.

OP posts:
Original poster
TheSecondOfHerName · 02/02/2018 17:18

if she is keen to go out I wouldn't feed her at half four before she goes out, I'd make her wait for her tea until she comes home.

She goes out, then we feed her at 4.30 to lure her back in before rush hour. Then we lock the catflap. We just need her to get the message. Smile

OP posts:
AnnaMagnani · 02/02/2018 17:22

There is no catflap for this very reason.

They go out after breakfast. They come in after dinner. After that no amount of howls or glares will get you allowed out again.

Exceptions:
If you are a very old cat who now doesn't fancy going out much and so can be relied upon to pop out for a quick wee after dinner
If it is cold and raining and so everyone would prefer a day sat by the radiator
If you are a young scaredycat who doesn't like going out so only goes out for 5 minutes to sit under nextdoor's hedge and then comes back in again
If one of you has given DH the slip when he goes to put the bins out Grin

Original poster
TheSecondOfHerName · 02/02/2018 17:37

I've just seen that you can get catflaps with timers, which we could set to keep her in from 4.30pm to 9.30am. Has anyone tried one of these?

OP posts:
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 02/02/2018 18:31

No advice but I know how determined they are! A few years ago rather than changing the time on the catflap we decided to barricade Harry in. DH put 3 cases of Budweiser in front of it and we went to bed. The following morning we were woken up by a strange noise - Harry was moving the cases across the kitchen floor!

Thankfully we now have a Sureflap with an app so it’s easy to change the time!

WhereIsBlueRabbit · 02/02/2018 18:34

We have a Sureflap which is microchip activated so once it starts getting dark, I set it to entry only. If Her Highness is out, it works well. If Her Highness has been snoozing on the bed all afternoon, we get yowled at for much of the evening and may have to placate her with Da Bird.

SimonBridges · 02/02/2018 18:34

We have a Sureflap pet door. It has a timer on it which we set the locking time on. We change it according to the time of year so it locks at sunset.
She has got used to it and never fusses to go out. She generally sleeps on the bed all night.

Obligatory photo.

How do you keep your cats in at night?
Fluffycloudland77 · 02/02/2018 18:37

I put the spin dryer over the flap but when he was young he would run up to the flap and head butt his way out. He can move the spin dryer Hmm

You used to be able to buy plastic covers that covered the whole flap but I haven't seen one for years.

She'll just have to learn that at night she stays in. I get twitchy if mines out after 8pm whatever time of year it is.

RandomMess · 02/02/2018 18:39

My girl car actually would lift the flap up inwards when it was set on in only Grin

caoraich · 02/02/2018 18:41

Our cats used to be able to unlock the cat flap too. We now have an enclosed garden, but when they were being brought in at night we used to put a bucket of water in front of the flap. It's way too heavy for them to push to the side, but then water could be chucked out the back door onto the flower bed in the morning so it didn't clutter the place up. It had the added benefit of them not climbing on top of it to try and squeeze behind to get out the flap - at least not after the first unexpected bath!

Original poster
TheSecondOfHerName · 02/02/2018 21:20

I'm liking the bucket idea!

OP posts:
fairylightsdown · 02/02/2018 21:34

Mine unlock the cat flap too. So at about 20.30 I lock it and put a plant pot in front of it (filled with compost). The pot covers about 2/3 of the cat flap. They can't get out at night time now :)

Original poster
TheSecondOfHerName · 03/02/2018 14:03

It's a bit drizzly today so she hasn't been out at all. Clearly a fairweather hunter / patroller.

OP posts:
viccat · 05/02/2018 15:12

Perhaps a better solution would be to catproof your garden so that she can go out all the time, but won't get out of your garden? There are various companies that offer this and also sell DIY options. Look at Sanctuary SOS, Katzekure, Protectapet etc.

If you live near a busy road, it's better to be safe than sorry - only takes one day when you don't have her in before the road gets busy and she's in danger...

Ski37 · 05/02/2018 16:03

My cat did this and in the end I gave up trying to stop him! When I got him I was told he'd been and 'indoor only' cat but it soon became clear he loved being outside. After having him three months I got a lockable cat flap so he could come and go as he wanted during the day but locked it at night. He forced himself out repeatedly. I built barriers( heavy books/ boxes/ massive plant pots)/ taped it up/ fed him late at night but what ever I did he still managed to force it open. Every night. This went on for a few weeks and didn't stop. It got to the point where I was so worried about him causing himself an injury trying to get out that I gave up..... he now seems to go on his excursions between 11-12, 2-3, 4-5 am - the rest of the time he is curled up outside my room/ on my bed. I'm lucky that I live near a quiet road on one side and fields on the other. He's much more settled being able to come and go as he wants - in fact he's turned into a massive soppy lap cat during the day- but I still worry every night when he's out!
As viccat said maybe cat proofing the garden could be an idea.

caoraich · 05/02/2018 20:49

I too can recommend cat-proofing

I don't have the pics on my phone any more but I put a thread on here a few months ago called "catio" - basically we built a large enclosed space onto the back of our house so they still get out and about, there's a wee tunnel from the cat flap in the back door and us humans get into it via the french doors in the dining room. It's worked really well and they spend a lot of time out there chasing bugs etc. Litter tray is out there (inside a little hut we built!) so there's no cat poop in the house, but they are also not shitting in anyone else's garden

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