how to train a cat to use a cat door?

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coolsti - 02 Oct 2004 08:40 GMT

Hi,

we have two cats which are about 1½ years old now, both with totally
different personalities. They love our yard and the outdoors. So we put in
a cat door in one of our walls, the type with a plastic door which they
can open in either direction by pushing against it, so they can come and
go as they please.

One of our cats has no problem with this, and learned right from the start
to go through it. The second cat, however, despite seeing the first cat go
through the door again and again, can't figure it out. If the plastic door
is tied up to be open, she goes in and out, no problem. As soon as the
door is down, she treats it like a solid wall. No matter what we do, we
can't get her to use the door.

Now that winter is coming, we can't have this plastic door taped in an
open position. Has anyone experience with this who can give us some hints
on how we can get her to use this door?

Thanks!
Steve, Denmark

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sethra - 03 Oct 2004 11:05 GMT

[snip]

> Now that winter is coming, we can't have this plastic door taped in an
> open position. Has anyone experience with this who can give us some
> hints on how we can get her to use this door?

Our four felines learned reasonably quickly with this method:

We taped it open, as you have done, then tossed their favorite toys
and/or treats through, depending on the cat (toys for the kittens, treats
for the adults).

Then, we did the same thing with it closed, one of us on each side of the
door, coaxing the critters with the treats, and they all caught on,
eventually. Reinforce the behavior you want with food.

You could also try moving the food dish just outside the cat door if it
won't freeze -- once she gets hungry enough and watches the other cat
eating, she should catch on.

Whatever you do, do *not* try to force or shove the cat through the door.
It won't work, and you'll just have an angry cat on your hands.

HTH,

Signature

~sethra

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coolsti - 09 Oct 2004 07:54 GMT

Well, she finally learned!

We removed the magnet at the bottom of the door, so that the door was not
so heavy to open, and made a little less noise when swinging back. That
helped a bit, because apparently, our one cat was very afraid of the door.

Then we spent a weekend quietly and smooth talkingly coaxing the cat to go
out and come back in the door, using either food or treats. Mostly, this
worked only a bit, because she was so mistrusting of what we were trying
to do, it seems. We got her to go through the door a few times by placing
some treats right up at the door, or in the case of some soft treats,
sticking to the side of the door, holding it slightly open.

This seemed to work. We noticed her looking very curiously at the door
more and more, rather than staying away from it completely, and after a
few more days she was cautiously, on her own, going through. Now, a week
later, she seems to have gotten the hang of it.

Regards,
Steve

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