our cat Mr Chunks (chunksy) is a very spoiled little chap, we have just spend £££ on a new back door with a catflap fitted so he can enjoy the summer and come in and out when he wants. except he can't figure out how to use it - we have to prop it open for him.
how do we train him to use it properly so we don't have a huge draught blowing through the house when the winter comes ? and all of the neighbours cats are coming in and stealing his food.
cat pics :
this is how he wakes me up in the morning when he wants to be let out !
jaredscottfla - 2008-07-22 05:54
Nice Looking Kitty!
I'm a DOG person...
But i Have Freinds Who Have Cats,and My Mom Has three. I know Cat's Can Be Trained(Harder Then Dogs,Cats are Much More Stubborn) Has the Cat Been Free To Roam Outside Before You Installed the Pet Door? If So The Cat Will Start Using The Pet Door on His own,If Not You'll need to continue Coaxing Him,when he uses the door follow him with a treat or a toy.
If the cat has been an indoor cat it's whole life,Fear of the unknown is strong,and u maybe resigned to having the kitty stay in the house.
I personally don't like pet doors,not only for the fact of the neighbors pets coming in and out,but also of the very LARGE likeliness of Bugs and critters comoing into the House.
Here in Fla that is a big prob. Racoons,snakes Mice,Roaches,Spiders and whatever else can get it or bring fleas and other parasites with them if they don't actually get in. My mom's cat used to go out and that cat always brought home a trophy,dead mouse bird,whatever Yuck!
My advice forget the pet door,train the cat on a leash,(yes Cat's can go on a leash) and take him for walks instead!
How nice!, I want a little cat also!, but I
do not know anything about cats
he goes outside regularly so is used to being in the open spaces, he will happily come in and out of the catflap when it is propped open for him but he will not open it for himself.
a friend suggested just pushing him through it when he wants to go out - i think i'm quite likely to get bitten for my trouble.
i might try putting his favourite treat (tuna fish) on the other side of the flap and see if he will be tempted ?
thankfully there is not much to worry about in scotland regarding snakes getting in but he has brought us a couple of birds recently - not too bad considering that mrs gm's mums cat brought home a live duck once !
skippy - what a nice picture of the two cats curled up asleep - they look very content.
panasonic.fan - 2008-07-22 07:27
Picture #3, my cat(s) would never get that close to a vacuum cleaner!
No idea how to get him to walk through the flap. The only experience I had like that was on a porch door off of a large screened porch, so our cats could clearly see the inside/outside. IE, if the cat can't see inside or outside unless it's through the door, that might be the problem. Cats tend to not like confined spaces, and that may be the visual that the flap presents to him.
I would try encouraging him with treats, or perhaps a clear flap so he can (somewhat) see where he's going. If you try the tuna fish trick, do it with the food on the inside and the cat outside- assuming he comes in to eat, that's a habit he should pick up on quickly.
Good luck with it.
you need to show huim how to do it
this is our little cow when he was a kitten, his name is gizmo, he is a munchkin, munchkin's are cats that have short legs they are bred this way, everything else is like a normal sized cat except for their short legs, he is part persian and part himalayin,
recent pic
and with my step daughters dog
That is a very lovely cat
, but I never did hear
about cats with short legs!
no progress with Chunksy and the hatch yet - i'll keep trying the fishy treat technique.
i'd never heard of Munchkin cats but Gizmo is a little star - i bet he is spoiled rotten. Great photos.
I did check the link!, thank you
When I get a cat, I will get a kitten, and I do
know which one it will be!
But I first have to study some stuff how to
take care of kittens as I never had a cat before
so actually I do not know nothing about those
friendly little creatures!
just remember the main thing about cute little kittens, they get big.
quote:
no progress with Chunksy and the hatch yet - i'll keep trying the fishy treat technique.
i'd never heard of Munchkin cats but Gizmo is a little star - i bet he is spoiled rotten. Great photos.
thanks, yeah I tend to refill his food bowl and skip right over the dogs quite a bit.
by the way, the princess bed he's lying on is not his, it's my grand daughters
These are our cats. Monte is the yellow one and Snickers is the grey one. They are a couple of dandies... 
