# My cats won't use the cat flap



## amelia100 (Mar 12, 2011)

Hi, I've had my cats just under a year and we installed a cat flap a couple days ago. It didn't occur to me that it would take some getting used to for the cats. They haven't quite figured out that they need to push the cat flap to get through. How do i teach them to do this? The cat flap seems to have a small magnet which gives a small bit of resistance, I wonder if this is gonna be a problem for them to push??

Please help, i spent loads of money on this thing and they won't use it! LOL. What do i do? Is it normal that they take their time to learn how it works??

Thanks


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## ownedby4cats (Jan 23, 2012)

When we put ours in we taped up the flap for several days so they could get use to the opening, then let down the flap and they went thru the door.


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## amelia100 (Mar 12, 2011)

ownedby4cats said:


> When we put ours in we taped up the flap for several days so they could get use to the opening, then let down the flap and they went thru the door.


 
Oh lol!!! Well that doesn't help me! :-?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

amelia100 said:


> Oh lol!!! Well that doesn't help me! :-?


Because you have moral or religious objections to tape? Perhaps they just not sell tape in your area?


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

LOL MowMow. thanks for the laugh :lol:

agreed tape it open a few days. maybe even toss through a couple of toys or treats with the cats watching.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Gosh I even taught my blind kitty fosters to use a cat flap to my screen in porch. You just gently push them thru a couple times. From each side. If your cats refuse to use it then, they are just being stubborn.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

We had them for the dogs and sometimes the dimmer bulbs would need to learn by leaving it open for a while(taping or tying open) and then after a few weeks lowering to half open..then a few weeks later a quarter... then closed but something put over the magnet so it was easy to push through...then they could finally push open the manget part.


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## ownedby4cats (Jan 23, 2012)

You asked and I told you how we got them to go thru the cat door, I don't see anything very funny about it. Just trying to help


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## amelia100 (Mar 12, 2011)

ownedby4cats said:


> You asked and I told you how we got them to go thru the cat door, I don't see anything very funny about it. Just trying to help


ooohhh, when you said 'door' i thought you meant door not cat flap! But, yeh thanks, i might try that.


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## amelia100 (Mar 12, 2011)

Just an update. SUCCESS! We taped it open for a couple of days...then i left them for a couple more days with my mother and she told me she'd put the flap back down and they were using it! I seriously thought i'd spent all that money for nothing....but nope, my kitties are pretty clever things. So happy, no more litter, well at least when i'm at my mothers...
and they love her garden so much I feel terrible tearing them away to bring them back to my apartment. Oh well. Also, I realised I stopped worrying about them since they use the cat flap...i used to constantly wonder where they'd go and wait for them to come back and open the door for them...but all that stress is gone. They're actually living like cats now! Woopwoop. 

And oh, we've had several new additions courtesy of their new wilder lifestyle - namely dead mice. Lovely. As long as they're not alive....i can cope with that.

Oh and THANKS for the advice guys! It really did work, and took no time at all.


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