Get The Cat Used To The Cat Flap

Some cats find their way through the cat flap all by themselves. For others, however, it takes a long time to get used to the flap. Here you can read how to get your cat used to the cat flap.

Cat flaps are helpful in allowing outdoor cats to move independently from indoors to outdoors and vice versa when people aren’t around for a few hours, for example. But a cat flap can also be helpful for indoor cats, for example, if a dog is also kept in the apartment and the cat should use a room as its sole retreat or the dog would otherwise eat away its food.

Get Your Cat Used To The Cat Flap

Some cats need to be trained to use a cat flap. It is best if the cat is used to the “slip through feeling” from an early age. A little trick: You can also temporarily install the flap in a box and calmly and playfully try out the emergency. You can also “rebuild” the flap first. To do this, cut a hole in a cardboard box for the cat to slip through and hang a piece of fabric in front of it.

If your cat has not been used to a cat flap from an early age, you can familiarize it with the following steps:

1. Fix the built-in flap so that it is permanently open. This is how your cat sees that this will get her outside.
2. Give your cat adequate time to become familiar with the open flap, and then practice walking through the open flap.
3. If your cat doesn’t want to go through the flap on its own, you can help it, for example with a string that you pull through the flap or with the help of a treat.
4. Once the cat is using the open flap safely (from both sides), close the flap a small distance and repeat the training. Then gradually close the flap.

Some cats really need a lot of patience. Practice regularly and don’t lose patience. Don’t forget that your cat needs to be able to use the flap not only from inside to outside but also from outside to inside!

Important Notes On Cat Flap Training

There are a few things to keep in mind when introducing your cat to a cat flap:

• If the cat is sniffing the flap or pawing it a bit: Don’t do anything that might frighten it! That means, for example, avoiding loud noises completely, because if the cat is startled it may associate it with the cat flap and it will be difficult for it to get used to it.
• Don’t try to “push” the cat through the hatch! This will only get you the opposite.
• Buying a clear cat flap can help. This way the cat can see exactly what is on the other side and maybe be more confident going through the flap.

What you can do is go outside through the front door next to the cat flap while the cat is still inside. Then you can pet the cat through the flap or just show it coming out through the flap to you. But don’t pull the cat outside through the flap!

The Different Types Of Cat Flaps

Basically, you should make sure that the cat flap is large enough for your cat and that it can comfortably go through. There are also cat flaps that close more quietly than others. For anxious cats, it can be an advantage to choose a particularly quiet cat flap. There are also different types of cat flaps:

• Loophole with flexible cover
• Two-way swing door: It is either open or closed
• Four-way cat flap: It enables the settings: fully open, fully closed, a cat can only go in, a cat can only go out.

The Different Locking Systems Of Cat Flaps

The cat flaps close in different ways. Some require a battery and only let your cat through, while others allow other animals to go through the door.

With some cat flaps, for example many (electro)magnetic ones or those with infrared transmitters, the cat has to wear a transmitter or magnet on its collar so that the flap opens for it. We strongly advise against such cat flaps that require a collar.

The most common locking systems for cat flaps are:

• Mechanical: The flap swings closed and is prevented from swinging back and forth in the wind by a magnetic strip. These cat flaps cannot be customized for your cat.
• Microchip: The cat flap reads the cat’s microchip and only opens with that microchip. Other animals can therefore not get through the door. However, these flaps can only be used with chipped cats.

Special Cat Flaps

There are also cat flaps for special cases:

• If your cat is particularly large or overweight, you’ll need an oversized cat flap or get a dog door.
• Passage indicator: You want to know whether the cat is inside or outside? There are cat doors that indicate which direction the cat last went through.
• Would you like a particularly quiet door? Most doors with magnetic closures are silent.