Help in training a cat

This continues from my past post "Help in solving a cat problem"

So far I've allowed the cat flap to swing in both directions and cover
the cat's food after he has eaten most of his food to stop the
neighbours cat from stealing the cat food. The problem is training the
cat to enter the cat flap door from outside the house. He seems to be
able to exit the house using the cat flap. There's a small table
beneath the cat flap outside for him to sit on. He waits at the door
next to the cat flap hoping that someone will let him inside. After
many tries (usually late at night) he gets thru the cat flap. He seems
to try to open the cat flap with his paw but when he withdraws his paw
the cat flap will close. There's a magnet at the bottom to hold the
cat flap to stop it blowing in the wind.
As he has trouble getting inside the house he is not keen on going
outside to go to te toilet so ends up messing inside.

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Regards Brian

Suddenly, without warning, Brian exclaimed (10/23/2010 7:30 PM):
This continues from my past post "Help in solving a cat problem"

So far I've allowed the cat flap to swing in both directions and cover
the cat's food after he has eaten most of his food to stop the
neighbours cat from stealing the cat food. The problem is training the
cat to enter the cat flap door from outside the house. He seems to be
able to exit the house using the cat flap. There's a small table
beneath the cat flap outside for him to sit on. He waits at the door
next to the cat flap hoping that someone will let him inside. After
many tries (usually late at night) he gets thru the cat flap. He seems
to try to open the cat flap with his paw but when he withdraws his paw
the cat flap will close. There's a magnet at the bottom to hold the
cat flap to stop it blowing in the wind.
As he has trouble getting inside the house he is not keen on going
outside to go to te toilet so ends up messing inside.

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Regards Brian

The obvious answer is to provide him with a litterbox inside, at least
as an interim fix, so he has some place to go. I can't help with the
cat flap, never had one.

jmc

jmc wrote:

Suddenly, without warning, Brian exclaimed (10/23/2010 7:30 PM):
This continues from my past post "Help in solving a cat problem"

So far I've allowed the cat flap to swing in both directions and cover
the cat's food after he has eaten most of his food to stop the
neighbours cat from stealing the cat food. The problem is training the
cat to enter the cat flap door from outside the house. He seems to be
able to exit the house using the cat flap. There's a small table
beneath the cat flap outside for him to sit on. He waits at the door
next to the cat flap hoping that someone will let him inside. After
many tries (usually late at night) he gets thru the cat flap. He seems
to try to open the cat flap with his paw but when he withdraws his paw
the cat flap will close. There's a magnet at the bottom to hold the
cat flap to stop it blowing in the wind.
As he has trouble getting inside the house he is not keen on going
outside to go to te toilet so ends up messing inside.

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Regards Brian

The obvious answer is to provide him with a litterbox inside, at least
as an interim fix, so he has some place to go. I can't help with the
cat flap, never had one.

jmc

I have given him a litter box over winter. The litter box gets in the
way and not the sort of thing you want on display when you have
vistors. There is a lack of floor space so I can't hide it in a dark
corner.
If the cat messes inside I might have to rub his nose in it and put
him outside. But I'm still hoping for a useful suggestion.

Regards Brian

On Oct 24, 2:04*am, Brian wrote:
jmc wrote:
Suddenly, without warning, Brian exclaimed (10/23/2010 7:30 PM):
This continues from my past post "Help in solving a cat problem"

So far I've allowed the cat flap to swing in both directions and cover
the cat's food after he has eaten most of his food to stop the
neighbours cat from stealing the cat food. The problem is training the
cat to enter the cat flap door from outside the house. He seems to be
able to exit the house using the cat flap. There's a small table
beneath the cat flap outside for him to sit on. He waits at the door
next to the cat flap hoping that someone will let him inside. After
many tries (usually late at night) he gets thru the cat flap. He seems
to try to open the cat flap with his paw but when he withdraws his paw
the cat flap will close. There's a magnet at the bottom to hold the
cat flap to stop it blowing in the wind.
As he has trouble getting inside the house he is not keen on going
outside to go to te toilet so ends up messing inside.

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Regards Brian

The obvious answer is to provide him with a litterbox inside, at least
as an interim fix, so he has some place to go. *I can't help with the
cat flap, never had one.

jmc

I have given him a litter box over winter. The litter box gets in the
way and not the sort of thing you want on display when you have
vistors. There is a lack of floor space so I can't hide it in a dark
corner.
If the cat messes inside I might have to rub his nose in it and put
him outside. But I'm still hoping for a useful suggestion.

If you really think this is an appropriate way to treat an animal then
you are an animal abuser and should give your cat to someone who would
NEVER consider doing such a horrible thing. The only thing your cat
will learn from such a horrible act is that you are an animal abusing
asshole and he should be afraid of you. The only reason he messes in
the house is because you refuse to give him any other option. You know
he's having some issues with the catflap and your refusing to give him
a ltterbox to use doesn't give him any other choice. This is not
rocket science. The rule is this: never get in a ****ing match with a
cat because the cat will always win. Give the poor cat a litterbox or
find him a new home with someone that respects his nature.

On Oct 24, 3:04*am, Brian wrote:
jmc wrote:
Suddenly, without warning, Brian exclaimed (10/23/2010 7:30 PM):
This continues from my past post "Help in solving a cat problem"

So far I've allowed the cat flap to swing in both directions and cover
the cat's food after he has eaten most of his food to stop the
neighbours cat from stealing the cat food. The problem is training the
cat to enter the cat flap door from outside the house. He seems to be
able to exit the house using the cat flap. There's a small table
beneath the cat flap outside for him to sit on. He waits at the door
next to the cat flap hoping that someone will let him inside. After
many tries (usually late at night) he gets thru the cat flap. He seems
to try to open the cat flap with his paw but when he withdraws his paw
the cat flap will close. There's a magnet at the bottom to hold the
cat flap to stop it blowing in the wind.
As he has trouble getting inside the house he is not keen on going
outside to go to te toilet so ends up messing inside.

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Regards Brian

The obvious answer is to provide him with a litterbox inside, at least
as an interim fix, so he has some place to go. *I can't help with the
cat flap, never had one.

jmc

I have given him a litter box over winter. The litter box gets in the
way and not the sort of thing you want on display when you have
vistors. There is a lack of floor space so I can't hide it in a dark
corner.
If the cat messes inside I might have to rub his nose in it and put
him outside. But I'm still hoping for a useful suggestion.

Regards Brian

Don't rub the nose of your cat into the mess. It will make it worse.
Then he will avoid the area and you can forget the cat flap.
I have a cat flap for my 2 cats and after initial training, it works
very well.

To train my cats, I removed the door for a few days and showed them
how to get through the tunnel. It is easier if you have someone to
help you. I had the cat inside in front of the door and my husband was
on the outside with they favorite treat. They had no problem getting
out. Then we switched roles. Getting inside was a bit trickier, but
after a few tries they managed it. Treats are a big motivator.

After a few days, we put the door in, but propped it open enough the
cats could put half their head through and did the treat thing again
from both sides. Again getting inside was more difficult, but they
managed with the help of treats. After they mastered the slightly open
door, we could leave the door closed.

I have done this with 3 cats so far and it always worked.

Chris

On Sun, 24 Oct 2010 12:30:34 +1300, Brian wrote:
This continues from my past post "Help in solving a cat problem"

So far I've allowed the cat flap to swing in both directions and cover
the cat's food after he has eaten most of his food to stop the
neighbours cat from stealing the cat food. The problem is training the
cat to enter the cat flap door from outside the house. He seems to be
able to exit the house using the cat flap. There's a small table

While you're both outside, hold the flap open and put him nose to
where the opening is so he can see inside. He'll go inside then.
He'll figure it out how to do it on his own eventually. Give him time.

"Brian" wrote in message
...
jmc wrote:

Suddenly, without warning, Brian exclaimed (10/23/2010 7:30 PM):
This continues from my past post "Help in solving a cat problem"

So far I've allowed the cat flap to swing in both directions and cover
the cat's food after he has eaten most of his food to stop the
neighbours cat from stealing the cat food. The problem is training the
cat to enter the cat flap door from outside the house. He seems to be
able to exit the house using the cat flap. There's a small table
beneath the cat flap outside for him to sit on. He waits at the door
next to the cat flap hoping that someone will let him inside. After
many tries (usually late at night) he gets thru the cat flap. He seems
to try to open the cat flap with his paw but when he withdraws his paw
the cat flap will close. There's a magnet at the bottom to hold the
cat flap to stop it blowing in the wind.
As he has trouble getting inside the house he is not keen on going
outside to go to te toilet so ends up messing inside.

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Regards Brian

The obvious answer is to provide him with a litterbox inside, at least
as an interim fix, so he has some place to go. I can't help with the
cat flap, never had one.

jmc

I have given him a litter box over winter. The litter box gets in the
way and not the sort of thing you want on display when you have
vistors. There is a lack of floor space so I can't hide it in a dark
corner.
If the cat messes inside I might have to rub his nose in it and put
him outside. But I'm still hoping for a useful suggestion.

Regards Brian

This is a cruel and completely ineffective method. Cats do not associate
"messing their noses" in something with the act of urinating or defecating
outside the box. Instead, they develop a fear and distrust of the person
who is abusing them. Your cat needs a litter box indoors. If you are going
to have a cat, you need to look at the needs of the cat.

When I had my first cat, I lived in a small apartment. There certainly was
no way to "hide" a litter box, but that is what my cat needed. He was such
a large cat, that the urine would sometimes spray over the edge of the box.
There are many ways to avoid that, but I had a larger container made for the
box to sit in (*uncovered*), so any "run-over" would hit the extra container
and not the wall. But the whole thing was certainly not hidden from view
because that was not possible. But, who cares? I had a wonderful
companion, and he had the type of accomodations that he needed.

Years later, my next cat was ill in her old age, and she would frequently
urinate outside the box. This time, it was not a question of "hiding" the
box but of adjusting to her needs when she had reached a time in her life
when it was apparently painful for her to dig in the litter. I simply
cleaned up after her as much as I could. After she died, I had that portion
of the carpet cut out, sealed the concrete underneath so my next cat would
not be able to smell that spot, and replaced the carpet. Again, this was
not some type of issue of a "misbehaving" cat. Anyone who wants a pet needs
to know their needs and make appropriate adjustments. Yes, certain behavior
can be trained--such as using a scratching post--but it is unreasonable to
expect a cat to know all of our wishes and adjust to them.

MaryL

catlady wrote:

On Oct 24, 2:04*am, Brian wrote:
jmc wrote:
Suddenly, without warning, Brian exclaimed (10/23/2010 7:30 PM):
This continues from my past post "Help in solving a cat problem"

So far I've allowed the cat flap to swing in both directions and cover
the cat's food after he has eaten most of his food to stop the
neighbours cat from stealing the cat food. The problem is training the
cat to enter the cat flap door from outside the house. He seems to be
able to exit the house using the cat flap. There's a small table
beneath the cat flap outside for him to sit on. He waits at the door
next to the cat flap hoping that someone will let him inside. After
many tries (usually late at night) he gets thru the cat flap. He seems
to try to open the cat flap with his paw but when he withdraws his paw
the cat flap will close. There's a magnet at the bottom to hold the
cat flap to stop it blowing in the wind.
As he has trouble getting inside the house he is not keen on going
outside to go to te toilet so ends up messing inside.

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Regards Brian

The obvious answer is to provide him with a litterbox inside, at least
as an interim fix, so he has some place to go. *I can't help with the
cat flap, never had one.

jmc

I have given him a litter box over winter. The litter box gets in the
way and not the sort of thing you want on display when you have
vistors. There is a lack of floor space so I can't hide it in a dark
corner.
If the cat messes inside I might have to rub his nose in it and put
him outside. But I'm still hoping for a useful suggestion.

If you really think this is an appropriate way to treat an animal then
you are an animal abuser and should give your cat to someone who would
NEVER consider doing such a horrible thing. The only thing your cat
will learn from such a horrible act is that you are an animal abusing
asshole and he should be afraid of you. The only reason he messes in
the house is because you refuse to give him any other option. You know
he's having some issues with the catflap and your refusing to give him
a ltterbox to use doesn't give him any other choice. This is not
rocket science. The rule is this: never get in a ****ing match with a
cat because the cat will always win. Give the poor cat a litterbox or
find him a new home with someone that respects his nature.

Believe it or not the idea of rubbing his nose in it came from a book
on cats so maybe you should be telling this to the author of the book.
You also forget that I'm looking for better ideas so I'm asking others
in my newsgroup post. My cat has plenty of love and affection.

Regards Brian

obsidianjg wrote:

On Oct 24, 3:04*am, Brian wrote:
jmc wrote:
Suddenly, without warning, Brian exclaimed (10/23/2010 7:30 PM):
This continues from my past post "Help in solving a cat problem"

So far I've allowed the cat flap to swing in both directions and cover
the cat's food after he has eaten most of his food to stop the
neighbours cat from stealing the cat food. The problem is training the
cat to enter the cat flap door from outside the house. He seems to be
able to exit the house using the cat flap. There's a small table
beneath the cat flap outside for him to sit on. He waits at the door
next to the cat flap hoping that someone will let him inside. After
many tries (usually late at night) he gets thru the cat flap. He seems
to try to open the cat flap with his paw but when he withdraws his paw
the cat flap will close. There's a magnet at the bottom to hold the
cat flap to stop it blowing in the wind.
As he has trouble getting inside the house he is not keen on going
outside to go to te toilet so ends up messing inside.

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Regards Brian

The obvious answer is to provide him with a litterbox inside, at least
as an interim fix, so he has some place to go. *I can't help with the
cat flap, never had one.

jmc

I have given him a litter box over winter. The litter box gets in the
way and not the sort of thing you want on display when you have
vistors. There is a lack of floor space so I can't hide it in a dark
corner.
If the cat messes inside I might have to rub his nose in it and put
him outside. But I'm still hoping for a useful suggestion.

Regards Brian

Don't rub the nose of your cat into the mess. It will make it worse.
Then he will avoid the area and you can forget the cat flap.
I have a cat flap for my 2 cats and after initial training, it works
very well.

To train my cats, I removed the door for a few days and showed them
how to get through the tunnel. It is easier if you have someone to
help you. I had the cat inside in front of the door and my husband was
on the outside with they favorite treat. They had no problem getting
out. Then we switched roles. Getting inside was a bit trickier, but
after a few tries they managed it. Treats are a big motivator.

After a few days, we put the door in, but propped it open enough the
cats could put half their head through and did the treat thing again
from both sides. Again getting inside was more difficult, but they
managed with the help of treats. After they mastered the slightly open
door, we could leave the door closed.

I have done this with 3 cats so far and it always worked.

Chris

Thanks obsidianjg, this is the helpful suggestions that I need.

Regards Brian

AZ Nomad wrote:

On Sun, 24 Oct 2010 12:30:34 +1300, Brian wrote:
This continues from my past post "Help in solving a cat problem"

So far I've allowed the cat flap to swing in both directions and cover
the cat's food after he has eaten most of his food to stop the
neighbours cat from stealing the cat food. The problem is training the
cat to enter the cat flap door from outside the house. He seems to be
able to exit the house using the cat flap. There's a small table

While you're both outside, hold the flap open and put him nose to
where the opening is so he can see inside. He'll go inside then.
He'll figure it out how to do it on his own eventually. Give him time.

Thanks AZ Nomad. I'm starting to do that at the moment.

The neigbours cat is very bold. He came in thru the cat flap at night
and jumped up on to the foot of the bed while I was in bed.

Regards Brian