We regard having a cat flap as an essential part of being a cat owner. As cats are naturally drawn to the outdoors, a cat flap allows them to enjoy time in the garden or roam the neighbourhood. However, a cat flap can present certain problems.
On occasion, you may find that cats other than your own may come and visit your home when they’ve not been invited. If this is the case for you, we’ve put together our best advice on how to stop other cats from using your cat flap below.
Why do cats come calling when you have a cat flap?
As cats like to roam and are naturally curious creatures, they do have a tendency to go ‘visiting’.
As anyone with a cat flap will tell you, there will be occasions when you receive visitors. The majority of these visitors will take a quick look around and then leave. Not all will, though.
Some cats will come in and eat your cat’s food, spray in your rooms to mark ‘their’ new territory or worse, fight your cat for dominance of that territory. They can visit for any number of reasons, whether that be to look for food, to look around, because they want attention, or because they want to claim territory.
None of those reasons is conducive to a happy cat or a good night’s sleep! So, take a look at our tips on how to stop other cats from using your cat flap below to resolve the problem.
How do I stop other cats from using my cat flap?
There are a few ways to prevent unwanted visitors of the feline kind. Some require behavioural changes and are free, but may vary in success. The most effective method costs a little money, but effectively delivers the security you and your cat need.
First, let’s cover those behavioural changes.
Lock the cat flap at night
If your visitors are usually nocturnal, shutting your own cat in at night can help. You can lock your manual cat flap or block your cat flap and hopefully, keep other cats out of your property.
The upside is that it’s free and easily achieved. The downside is that it’s an extra task for your evening routine and restricts your own cats’ freedom. If your own cat enjoys wandering at night, this can impact their own happiness and sense of well-being.
Move food or put it away at night
If you have cats, chances are you’re already in the habit of not leaving food unattended. Turn this into a strict habit overnight, and you remove one of the primary reasons cats come calling. If you don’t want to put it away, move it upstairs or to another room.
We found great success with this method for our own cats. They ate only dry food, so we used to leave it out in the kitchen all night, as our cats liked to graze. Neighbourhood cats would visit at night to snack on the food, waking us up and annoying our cats.
By simply moving their food bowl to the hall upstairs, we were able to let our cats graze contentedly while also removing temptation from neighbouring cats.
Don’t treat or fuss neighbouring cats
A less-than-ideal but effective way to minimise cat visitors is to not make friends with them. The more they get to know you and learn that you’re not a threat, the more likely they are to come visiting.
This isn’t going to work for everybody, as it means not making a fuss when other cats strike the pose or when they rub themselves up against your leg. However, remaining aloof and an unknown quantity will make all but the bravest cats consider very carefully whether to come calling or not.
Our most recommended method: Using an automatic cat flap
Using an automatic cat flap, such as a microchip cat flap or magnetic cat flap, is the simplest way to prevent cat visitors, and is a worthwhile investment if uninvited feline guests are something you often experience.
An automatic cat flap uses an intelligent locking mechanism that recognises your cat’s microchip or a token you attach to your cat’s collar. As they approach the cat flap, it unlocks and allows your cat to come and go as they want. If another cat tries to enter, the flap will stay locked, barring entry.
This solution has obvious benefits: it doesn’t compromise your cat’s freedom, you don’t have to hide food or move it, and you don’t have to restrict your cat in any way. If you have multiple cats or even a small dog, each can be recognised by their microchip or token, allowing them to come and go as they please.
Of all these approaches, we think the automatic cat flap works best. It provides the protection your cat needs to feel secure without impacting their freedom. It also means you can allow your cat (or dog) to come and go as they please while still getting a good night’s sleep. That has to be worth the investment!
Convenient cat flaps from Closer Pets
By using an automatic cat flap, you can successfully stop other cats from using your cat flap, leaving the problem of intruders a thing of the past. If you’d like to find more of our best tips for taking care of your cat, fish, or dog, you can find many more handy blogs and guides over on our pet advice page.
Not only do our cat flaps help to benefit both you and your cat’s lives, but we have many more advanced cat products that can also help, including our automatic cat feeders and cat water fountains. If you’d like to find out about any of the items in our collection, get in touch with us today, and we’ll be more than happy to help you out.