How Do I Stop Other Cats Using My Cat’s Catflap?
20 February 2010
27 Comments
I have a timid female cat and recently put a cat flap in. Unfortunately other cats are now coming in. I have chased cats out and they haven’t come back, but one cat in particular just will not get the hint. I once even cornered him and poured a jug of water on him but he’s been back. Are there any tried and tested (humane!) ways of getting rid of the unwanted cats?
lol…I dont think there is…the same thing will happen to me if I got a cat flap, which Is why im against the idea…my cats wont go through it and other cats will!
If putting a jug of water over the cat didnt help I dont know what will!
u could use a microchip catflap
i think it reads a microchip that you’d have to get put into your cat and will only open for your cat
Yeh , the same thing happened to my sisters kitten. You can get magnetic cat flaps which open as soon as the cat goes near to it or a chip in the cat which probably cost’s more. Thats the best way to go. I’ve had no stray cat problems since.
you could always mark the territory with urine…sounds gross but it’s supposed to work
You can get cat flaps that will only open from a signal in the cats collar but I personally don’t like a collar on my cat. She goes out hunting and as we live in a rural area – fields, woodland, farm fields etc don’t want her to get caught by the collar.
My cat goes to the back door and just stands there waiting for me to open the door and when she wants back in jumps on the kitchen window ledge.
The only way to stop the unwanted cats coming in to your house is to get rid of the cat flap.
Get rid of the cat flap,and chalk the whole thing up to experience.
Please don’t abuse the other cats that come in the cat flap, they’re probably just hungry or curious. Of course they’re going to come thru an open cat flat, just do what the others say and get one that only opens when your cat comes near it or get rid of it altogether if it bothers u that much. Throwing water or kicking or abusing the other cats is NOT OK. Even a squirt gun filled with water is more humane than pouring a jug of water on the poor thing.
you can buy a magnetic cat flap – it comes with a collar for your cat – when she gets near it, the magnets react and cause the flap to open, allowing her in and out of the house. the only problem is they arent cheap but its worth a shot
hope this helps!!
Well, you could buy one of those catflaps which come with a magnetic collar, that only lets your cat in and out and refuses entry to other cats.
With the one cat that keeps coming back; I suspect that the problem is that he isn’t being fed enough at home and is trying to steal your cat’s food, so try to track down the owner and talk to him about it. We used to have the same problem with one specific cat, but it stopped happening when my mate’s mum (who is the neighbour of the owners; they have at least half a dozen cats, it seems) “adopted” the cat, giving her the occasional bit of food and a blanket to lie on.
Well, the “pour a jug of water” over the cat is supposed to work, but otherwise, I’d suggest that maybe the cat that you’re trying to get rid of is hungry or something and wants feeding. I wouldn’t suggest feeding it or anything or it will keep coming back nonstop, but if you know who the owner of the cat is talk to them. Good luck.
And yeah, the collar/cat flap thing worked for neighbours who kept getting other cats coming in…
How about “indoor only” cats. They live much longer.
we have the same problem . the only thing we tried is not leaving any food down at night , it has worked a bit but we still have the odd cat coming in . we were going to get one of those magnetic cat flaps but what happens if your cat loses their collar ? we have 6 cats so it could work out rather expensive . so we have just accepted the situation and if i hear the other cat come in i always say that our cats have invited their mates around again cause we are in bed , just like the kids Ha Ha .
You can buy cat flaps which come with magnetic collars. These will only open for you cat as she will have the collar on. This might be the only way to deter the other cat.
Louise
I’ve just found a site that uses a cats microchip to open a cat flap but its expensive, here’s the website
http://www.microchipcatflaps.co.uk/
Hope this helps
if a different cat comes through your cat flap trough water at it
Please don’t listen to the people who say “don’t let your cat out it’s only a matter of time before she gets killed” Thats rubbish and depends on where you live etc.. If she wants to go out let here out if she happy not going out then maybe get rid of flap.. By the sounds of it she won’t be going out much if she shy..so maybe a four way locking fap the way to go.. also don’t leave any any tasty tempting food about to encourage wandering kittys…also I had this problem for awhile but the offending cat happened to be my cats stalker lol! followed him everywher!
Well, there is always the option of getting one of those catflaps that have the little motion sensers, you just put one on your cat’s collar and the door will only open for your cat.
There are magnetic cat-flaps that only open when you cat comes into them becuase you attach a special magnet to its collar! This will stop any unwanted cats from coming in! I have seen them at pet shops but I’m not sure how much they were. Sorry :SGood luck!
Glue it shut. Not only will it keep the other cats out but it will prolong your cat’s life. Plus if you have a “timid” cat – that seems even MORE ridiculous that you let her outside. It’s only a matter of time before your cat’s killed if you let it outdoors. http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?ac…
Best to get one of those which only open for your cat, triggered by a little sensor on the collar.
What you can do is buy a special cat flap at your pet stores (petsmart or petco) there is a flap you can buy that only lets your cat go in and nothing else….you put the collar on the cat and when its infront it will let it go in… if your pet doesnt have this collar…then it will not have acess….(click on the web link bellow to see what it is)
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752756
We changed our cat flap for one of the magnetic ones where your cats have a little magnet on their collar so it only lets them in.
I have a problem with my neighbours cat coming in as i have 3 cats AND 2 Dogs it drives my dogs nuts so i bought a magnetic cat flap it comes with 1 large battery like tag to put on the collar i had to buy 2 extra for my other cats at £13.99 each and the cat flap was £56 so very expensive and the damn heighbours cat still gets in it barges the flap i havent slept for three nights as its always early hours of the morning ive spoken to the owner and she thinks its funny she says he keeps me awake if i keep him in Oh so it dosent matter that im up half the night worrying that my dogs are going to kill your cat she replies well hopefully youll hear the comotion downstairs and he will be up on your kitchen counter out of the way……so i say if you havent got a cat flap then like others say dontwaste your money on one.
I have this same problem, but with a slightly different circumstance. About 4 years ago a stray cat (well we think so anyway) started coming into my house through the catflap and eating my cats food. I’d taken in a stray (who was definately a stray) a few years before but had no problems with him, he died and then there was no more strays in for at least a year. This new stray was a long haired and incredibly friendly cat, so we sort of encouraged him to come in as there was no problem with the other stray cat and the existing cat. He stayed with me for maybe three years, and although he’s a very personable and friendly cat there were territory issues with the other cat, and she took to living above the boiler. The long haired cat also brought fleas into the house, which we’d never had before despite always having cats that freely come and go, and no matter what I tried I couldn’t seem to get rid of them, frontline certainly didn’t work on him. Anyway, in the past year my cat has got her confidence back and seems normal and healthy again. Someone in my street started complaining that I apparently wasn’t feeding the long haired cat, because he always saw him outside, he even called the RSPCA and reported me for animal cruelty (when they came they said there wasn’t a problem with the cat). Because of this a lot of people in the neighborhood started feeding the cat (they may have before but it was certainly worse after this chap over the road started causing a fuss), the cat was then overfed and throwing up undigested food all over my house. He then started to come less and less, so if he came in I fed him, if not then I didn’t put any food out for him. After a while he hardly came in and had a new collar. Right, back on track, here is my issue. Someone has clearly taken him in, or else why would he have a new collar? but he’s frequently coming into my house and its really upsetting my cat, as he uses her litter tray and scent marks, so I’m thinking maybe whoever feeds him doesn’t have a cat flap… When I see him I pick him up by the scruff of the neck (makes me feel cruel but it doesn’t hurt them and is supposed to help discourage them) and put him out. But he’s coming in more and nothing seems to discourage him. I called the lady from the RSPCA who came before and she said to throw a cup of water at him, so clearly it isn’t that inhumane as some people would tell you, but that hasn’t done anything it seems, he comes in just as much. I can’t keep the catflap closed because the other cat is getting old and her behavior is erratic, so I don’t want to change her environment if I can help it, also I think keeping a cat indoors all the time is actually quite cruel, it isn’t in their nature to be kept inside for their whole lives. So there we have it. I have no idea what to do. I’ve tried to scare him off by stamping my feet as this worked once but he takes no notice. I wouldn’t mind him being here if other people hadn’t fed him and taken him in, but I can’t have him back now and I don’t know who gave him the collar so I’m at a loss to be honest.
To Lizzie
have you thought of attaching a message somehow to his collar to find out who the new owners are? Sounds a bit out there and i must admit the idea came from a children’s book that i recently read but it might be a way of finding out where he lives.
We had the same problem and i finally found out who are visitor belonged to. The couple had split up and the cat should have gone with ‘him’ but suddenly reappeared an ‘she’ didn’t want it. So it can and stole my cats food for about 6 months! finally the RSPCA took him away with the couples consent.
We now have another visitor who i really wish would go away as he is making my male cat spray again which he hasn’t done for ages.
will be trying the noise and squirt guns i think.
sorry about the spelling, typing over the cat on my lap
I had no choice than catch a stray cat that came into the house by my cat flap last winter, he sprayed all over the house, very yucky. Then for a while I had a small dog that got along with my cats, but he passed away. Now a female stray is coming inside, she is already gaining weight. I do not mind the food she eats – I have a permanent feeder – but having 3 spayed/neutered cats myself I am at the limit I can legally have and will be held responsible. I think it is VERY cruel to keep my cats inside – they are used to go in and out as they like for five years. Any hints? I abhor collars, one of my former cats jumped a fence, got caught in her collar and was strangled to death . Any advice? I will have a room-mate in a couple of months that has dogs (our animals know and tolerate each other)
Hello Monika – thanks for posting, but I have to say I disagree with you completely when you say it is VERY cruel to keep cats inside. Currently, we have 3 indoor cats, all of them rescued from lives as strays, and one “patio cat”, who lives happily and contentedly in our enclosed patio and garage. All are spayed females, and Lilly, the “patio cat” was pregnant and starving when she arrived in our front yard in the middle of the harshest winter for many years. I immediately got her spayed.
I am also feeding a cat left behind 18 months ago when his owner moved away, but he is traumatized and very timid. He hides somewhere all day and sneaks into our back yard after dark to eat the food I put out for him.
Previously, the other 4 cats were all obviously outdoor cats, but they have adapted to being indoors without any issues. They are well fed, warm in the winter, cool in the summer and lead especially comfortable, healthy, stress free lives.
Once they are outdoors, cats run the risk of being hit by cars, chased by dogs and attacked by other cats and wildlife. They are also responsible for the deaths of millions of native birds every year. By their nature, cats are predatory, and left to their devices are very efficient killers. People say it’s just nature that they kill birds: NO – the birds are natural to the environment, cats are alien predators introduced by man. The birds are already struggling to survive their loss of habitat and chemicals inflicted upon their environment by man.
You very probably won’t agree with my response, but you happen to have touched upon an issue I feel particularly strongly about.
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