Cat Flap Problems

Question
Im trying to educate my 17 year old female cat to get through the cat flap.  I've tried stringing up the flap to allow her through but this just encourages other cats in the area.  I've tried the food trick and trying to push her through but she's not having any of it.  Has any one got any other ideas?

Answer
Rebekah,

Your cat is approx 84 years old in human years. Older cats do not like changes in their habits and it can be very stressful for them. Trying to teach her something new like using the cat flap that she does not want to do can be very upsetting to her, not to mention having strange cats coming through it. At her age she should be inside, safe, and stress free. At this point in her life I would keep doing whatever you have been doing with her and not force the issue.

Whatever you decide, here are the training instructions...even though it sounds like you have already tried them:

One mistake to avoid in trying to cat flap train is do not frighten your cat! The most common way to frighten is to shove her through the pet door. She may associate her fright with the pet door and not want to go near it again.

NEVER use punishment when training. Even a reprimand can be upsetting and stressful for the cat. Instead rely on the use of rewards (usually special food treats) to reinforce good behaviour and ignore behaviour that you do not want. Find a reward that your cat will REALLY like (sardines in oil, pieces of raw steak, chunks of tuna, etc.). Make sure it is broken into tiny pieces so that you can use several pieces in one training session.

First, you will need to teach the cat to walk through the hole in the door by taping the flap open, or remove the flap altogether temporarily while the pet gets used to the idea of coming and going in that particular location. Reward the behaviour each time she gets it right by feeding a treat. If it has a magnet, remove it if you can to make the door easier to open at the beginning. When the cat is walking both in and out of the opening, the flap needs to be lowered slightly. She will then need to learn that to walk through pushing on the flap is required. This needs to be rewarded over a number of repetitions. Finally, the cat will need to understand that even when the flap is fully closed, pushing will allow her to walk through to get the reward. When that is learned then no more rewards are necessary.

Good luck. It's a difficult and time consuming thing to teach a cat...even a young cat.

Tabbi