 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / General Topics / February 2004Cat flap
I have bought a cat from the RSPCA, and having been kept in for a month and neutered she is now able to go outside. I have just installed a cat flap in the kitchen door, but she doesn't seem keen to use it. She'll come to the dining room doors instead and meow alot. She doesn't seem to like going in the kitchen, although I have finally pursuaded her by putting the litter tray next to the kitchen door in the hope that she'll become happier going into the room and will use the cat flap and go outside to do her business. How cna I ween her off the litter and get her to go outside.? Is it easy to use ? If it's too high up, it may need a block/step on the lower side. Try tempting her in/out with food. > I have bought a cat from the RSPCA, and having been kept in for a month and > neutered she is now able to go outside. I have just installed a cat flap in [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > into the room and will use the cat flap and go outside to do her business. > How cna I ween her off the litter and get her to go outside.? >I have bought a cat from the RSPCA, and having been kept in for a month and >neutered she is now able to go outside. I have just installed a cat flap in [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >into the room and will use the cat flap and go outside to do her business. >How cna I ween her off the litter and get her to go outside.? I've had success just holding the flap open, or blocking it open in nice weather, to let the cat get used to the idea of coming and going through the hole - usually they spend a lot of time just looking through the hole before going through it. I've still had some trouble with the type that has a magnet at the bottom of the flap to keep it closed: some cats just don't like the extra force required to open the flap, but they eventually learn. As for weaning a cat off the litter box, good luck - you'll need it: some cats will go outside even in a snow storm, but others will use the living room carpet rather than warm, dry, and loose dirt if no litter box is provided ... some will spend most of their time outside, coming in mostly to eat and use the litter box. T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu) SPAM filter: Messages to this address *must* contain "T.E.D." somewhere in the body or they will be automatically rejected. >I've had success just holding the flap open, or blocking it open in >nice weather, to let the cat get used to the idea of coming and going >through the hole - usually they spend a lot of time just looking >through the hole before going through it. Ted-I know you live in the boonies like we do. So a question for you... have you ever had any opossums, skunks, raccoons, etc. come in thru the cat door? Sherry >>I've had success just holding the flap open, or blocking it open in >>nice weather, to let the cat get used to the idea of coming and going [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >Ted-I know you live in the boonies like we do. So a question for you... have >you ever had any opossums, skunks, raccoons, etc. come in thru the cat door? Possums and coons, yes; skunks, no ... at least that I know of. I had to get a pair of big dogs to put a stop to the vermin eating the cat food inside. Unfortunately, the dogs let the possums get in and only deal with them when they leave: Brandy catches them, then Odin crunches them. The coons are smart enough to know they don't want to tangle with 120 pounds of hostile dogs, so they just stay away. Both of the dogs are part hound, though Odin is part fox hound (half Walker hound) rather than coon hound - I don't know what Brandy is. Coons and hounds have a traditional animosity. T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu - e-mail must contain "T.E.D." or my .sig in the body) >Possums and coons, yes; skunks, no ... at least that I know of. I had >to get a pair of big dogs to put a stop to the vermin eating the cat [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >T.E.D. Thanks I'd wondered about it, as we haven't yet put a cat door in. We do have a Doxie mix who is a master gopher dog. I think he might keep the critters away from the house too. Sherry >>Possums and coons, yes; skunks, no ... at least that I know of. I had >>to get a pair of big dogs to put a stop to the vermin eating the cat [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >Doxie mix who is a master gopher dog. I think he might keep the critters away >from the house too. The problem I ran into was the Brandy (the catcher) wanted to spend all her time in the front yard, not in the back where the flap is. I put in a radio fence to contain the dogs in the back yard, but Brandy keeps running over it when she chases something and then can't get back into the containment area - sometimes she then disappears for a day or two. T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu - e-mail must contain "T.E.D." or my .sig in the body) >How cna I ween her off the litter and get her to go outside.? Get rid of her indoor litter box, unless it's raining of course. If I have a litter box inside, my cats use it. If I don't, they go out the kitty door to my totally enclosed yard and use that instead. | I have bought a cat from the RSPCA, and having been kept in for a month and | neutered she is now able to go outside. I have just installed a cat flap in [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] | into the room and will use the cat flap and go outside to do her business. | How cna I ween her off the litter and get her to go outside.? The 'litter' question and the 'using the flap' question are two different things. My cats started to use outdoors as a toilet months after they lerarned to use the flap. So you must let them decide when it's time. Give them at least one month, then you can start neglecting to clean the box to speed up things. About the cat flap: it's winter, but the most effective way is to tie up the flap to have the way open for about one week. Then cat will know how to use it. Carola I agree w/Ted, keep the door open, it's something strange and new, he may like it better if you can keep the door out of the way for a while. As for not using a litter box - it's instinct, I've fostered many kittens and when they get about 4-5 weeks of age they uually start using the pan on their own with no help from me. Keep one around to be on the safe side, that way you won't have soiled furniture or carpeting! > I have bought a cat from the RSPCA, and having been kept in for a month and > neutered she is now able to go outside. I have just installed a cat flap in [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > into the room and will use the cat flap and go outside to do her business. > How cna I ween her off the litter and get her to go outside.? |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.