Teaching older cat to use catflap

[DailyFailstinks]

I’ve recently adopted an older rescue cat.

He is housetrained but does not seem to have used a catflap before and is terrified of it.

I’ve tried all of the usual - bribing him with treats to go through, gently ‘pushing’ him through, etc. Nothing works - he just sits it front of the catflap miaowing at it. Does anyone have any tips?

I trained an old rescue cat to use the cat flap after years of being unable to. It involved his most favourite food in the whole world, boiled ham, and quite a long time waving it through the cat flap, coaxing him through etc. It can be done and my lovely old cat gained a freedom he had never had before.

We taped ours open for a wee while. One of mine was more resistant than the other and took a few weeks to start using it

Thanks for the replies. I’d hadn’t thought of taping it open - will give that a go. I know I need to be patient with him - he’s been through a lot, poor little guy!

definitely tape it open. With ours it was the noise that bothered her but once she understood that she could go through and what the noise was she was fine. Although she did refuse to use it if anyone was in sight in which case they ought to be opening the door or at the very least pushing the catflap open because that is what humans are for.

If you haven’t had him long stop trying for a bit. Its a lot to take in.

Why stress yourself out over it.

That’s true I suppose. I guess I was thinking that if I left it he’d never learn, but I’m sure he’ll get there in his own time...

I used to hold ours open and he’d peer through it. In a torrential thunder storm you learn how to use it.