Cat Flap. How to get my little chap to use it ??

[bomb]

Having bought a very nice (executive!) cat flap, my cat is so nervous of it, and cannot work out that he needs to push through it with his nose.

How can I encouage him to use it ??

He has ventured through when I hold the flap open for him, but otherwise he sits and peers through the 'window' and waits patiently.

I have tried putting a little snippet of food there, and also wiped a scent of cat-nip on it, to no avail.

I'd love him to be able to come and go as he pleases.

Any suggestions ??

[neenaw]

We got a cat flap fitted for the dog to get through and had some problems at first training her to use it.

The way we did it in the end was to not feed Jess one morning then with one of us stood either side of the door with treats, we'd encourage her to go through the flap then treat her when she did it.
After about 15 minutes she had cracked it!

I'm not sure if it works the same with a cat but it's worth a try.

[bomb]

That might work. He loves his grub, so the thought of some food may just tempt him.

I'll give it a try.

[GTIR]

I just pushed mine through a few times!

He got the hang of it very quickly.

No offence, but maybe your cat is a bit dumb.

[illmonkey]

Hold it open, hold food other side from cat.

Do that 3 or four times.

[Piersman2]

Oops, sorry, thought the title of this thread might be a euphemism or two.

More dissapointingly, some sage advice from experience. Try using a couple of clothes pegs to hold the door open whilst he gets used to using it. Then slide the pegs down the door to lower it over a few days so it means the cat then gets used to pushing it open himself.

Won't take long for his stupid brain to get the message.

[Digger]

A wise choice not to initially post this in The Lounge.

[Jasandjules]

GTIR said:

No offence, but maybe your cat is a bit dumb.

Dumb? He's a genuis - if he sits there long enough his servant opens the flap for him so he doesn't have to exert any effort.

As others have said OP, don't feed him for a day, then put his dinner the other side of the door.

ETA - oh and with one cat we left the flap off for about a week whilst she got used to going through the gap to get to her food. When the flap door went on it took a day or two but she soon got the hang of going through it.

[K77 CTR]

Piersman2 said:

Try using a couple of clothes pegs to hold the door open whilst he gets used to using it. Then slide the pegs down the door to lower it over a few days so it means the cat then gets used to pushing it open himself.

Won't take long for his stupid brain to get the message.

This is what I did with mine, learnt pretty quickly

[QuackHandle]

Digger said:

A wise choice not to initially post this in The Lounge.

[Marf]

illmonkey said:

Hold it open, hold food other side from cat.

Do that 3 or four times.

Then once he is happy to jump through it with the flap held open, leave it closed and tempt him through with food.

[blueg33]

I have found propping it open at first and then pushing them through it a few times works.

[anonymous-user]

I just 'posted' ours through it a few times and he soon got the hang of it!

[KrazyIvan]

Put the food on the other sidce of the door, that way if he doesnt eat it, the other cats in the neighbourhood will

Or do the peg idea, that way he can get out but not back in

[Broomsticklady]

Another vote for 'post the pussy' - we've always used the technique and while some take longer than others they do get the hang quite quickly