Training Cats To Use Cat Doors

Cats are naturally independent and adventurous creatures so they should be allowed to go outdoors from time to time. If you have one or more cats, it’s always a good idea to install cat doors in certain places in the house, to allow your pet or pets to come in and out as they please. After having the cat doors installed, you can train your cat use them to come in and out, since some cats don’t know what they are.

Every cat is different, learning how to use cat doors may be very easy for your cat, or very difficult. Some cats are rather reluctant to use cat doors for various reasons. To help your cat get comfortable with the idea of using cat doors, here are some tips for you.

Show the Cat How the Door Operates

After the cat doors have been installed, take your cat to them. Gently put your cat in front of the cat door and hold it with one hand, then use the other hand to push the door so that the cat can see that it leads outside. You have to be patient if the cat just doesn’t go through the door. You can then gently push the cat through the door while holding the door open with one hand. Another thing you can try is placing something the cat likes on the other side of the door.

It may take a while before your cat gets used to the idea of using the cat doors instead of the kitchen door to get out. Your cat may still expect you to open the kitchen door for it whenever it wants to go out. No matter how badly you want it, don’t stand up and open the kitchen door for it. Instead, what you should do is pick up the cat, carry it to the cat door, put it down, open the door for it, and push it through. Keep repeating this until the cat starts to use the cat doors on its own.

Safety

Before allowing the cat to go out, make sure that it’s wearing a collar. A lot of owners who lost their cats were never able to retrieve their pets simply because their pets were not wearing collars.

Also, to insure that the cat doesn’t get stuck, make sure that the doors are not obstructed or have obstacles. Don’t put heavy objects near cat doors, as cats might come running inside and may hit them, and if you have small children, teach them to keep their toys away from cat doors.