How to teach cat flap

[SaucySoy]

Hello all, I’ve taken on a cat and she’s around 10 yrs old.
she is an outdoor cat but previous owner apparently left window open for her to use freely and would often shut her out at night.
We want her to have freedom to go in and out as she chooses.
we installed a cat flap, she has started using it to go out but not back in, the way back in looks different and there is a slight tunnel I guess so maybe scary for her?

we have been leaving it open with a prop in daytime and she comes in and out but when it’s closed at night she will go out but not in even though she sometimes is waiting at door for us to let her in.
any good training ideas?

Dreamies!!

Cat inside, human and cat treats outside. Call cat.

Human slips inside, leaving cat outside. Call cat in (ie shake dreamie packet)

I had to leave my cat flap propped open for ages, so can you leave it open at night for a little longer. Can you try and adjust the opening so it gets a little smaller each time. I’m imagining some kind of Heath Robinson arrangement.

An alternative might be to close it a little earlier in the day, but wait at the other side of the cat flap with tasty strong smelling food (dinner time is best) - and encourage her to come in to the house while holding the cat flap open a little way. I know it’s time consuming and sometimes it’s very hard to fathom a cats mind.

My cat had a problem going out of the cat flap, but not coming in. We had had renovations so the cat flap was moved into a wall and there was a bit of a tunnel. I think in the end I got frustrated and resorted to physically pushing my cat out of the cat flap (gently) - but I’d had him forever and he wasn’t very reactive.

We had a tunnel in our old house as the flap went through an external wall, it did seem to be a bit more intimidating and we found the only way was to physically (gently) shove the cat through a couple of times before she got her confidence and was fine with it. Use treats as well but sometimes it takes a bit more persuasion!

Why would a cat use the flap, when there's a slave to open the door? Years ago, our cat used to tap the flap with a paw, to let us know she was outside, or she would scratch at the living room window until somebody went to the kitchen to let her in.