Anyone got a cat but no cat flap?

Silaqui

Would anyone risk having one in the front door? Too insecure?
Thanks Geri, good to know it can be done then!
Lol it's deffo a priorty - 6 years in rented and 4 at uni before that without a cat of my own has left me deprived of feline company! x

Denene

We don't have a cat flap. Our 2 cats are both indoor cats, because they have FIV, so they aren't allowed contact with other cats. They are perfectly happy to stay indoors most of the time and have the run of the house during the day. At night they stay in the kitchen where all their bits and pieces are. Once they got settled in, we started,to let them into the yard and then took them into the garden (under supervision). Now we can leave the back door open in the summer and they wander out for a while and shelter in the yard if it rains.

Our local cat shelter usually has some cats who need/are accustomed to staying indoors if you wouldn't mind them being around the house all the time.

Bexsam2010

Hi there. I know this thread is old now but I'm interested in how it went!
We're in the process of adopting our first cat but have nowhere to put a cat flap. I keep getting advised different things depending on who I ask. We both work so will be out the house from 7.45-5.30 every day and we're unsure whether to put the cat out all day or leave her inside and just let her out when we get home.
We have an enclosed garden and a shed that we could make into a shelter for her.

luckycat99

I'm interested in this thread too. I'm looking for a new home. So far have only considered ground floor flats so puss can have a cat flap - however there are more non-ground floor flats, and they are cheaper.

He wouldn't abide being locked out and would howl the place down until I let him in (even if he's left out all day while I'm at work).

I'm struggling to think outside the box for another solution...

Carer

google cat ladders for flats - there are loads of solutions.

Also - 6 cats, no cat flap.

TBagpuss

We had a house with no cat flap for quite a long time while I was growing up. We did have an outbuilding and there was a flap into that , and inside the outbuilding (which was large but not heated) there were various bits of old furniture and boxes, so lots of things to sit in/on/under.

The cat learned to knock on the window when he wanted to come in (and was quite good at going round trying more than one window until he found one with people on the other side!)

You need to make sure that water is available for when the cats are out, and that they do have somewhere dry and sheltered to go.

KxMx

Any cat we have has been trained from a young age to go out when we say they can.

So when someone is home for the day cat gets let out with a window or door left open. Called in at their dinner time and then are in over night.

If we will both be out for the day then she doesn't get to go outside that day.

We got out current cat at 6 months and she had been left to run wild. She settled into the new routine an absolute treat (apart from fighting with another cat and fleeing up neighbours tree the first time we let her out properly, resulting in a paw pad so badly torn she had to be kept in until it healed :rotfl: )

I've never believed in letting a cat roam at will but I realise not everyone shares this view.

michbright

We've never had a catflap but have a litter tray instead. In the summer we have a window open in the dining room so they can come and go as they please but in the winter, they tend to stay indoors as they dont like the cold. They actually come inside to use the litter tray and then go out again (we have a covered litter tray).

tizerbelle

2 cats, no cat-flap. Usually if I'm at home the back door (french doors in back room) is left open (in all kinds of weather!) and they (and one of the dogs who is a moocher) wander in and out at will.

Old cat rarely goes out and if he does its for no more than 15 minutes. Little cat will vanish for hours. If either get stuck outside when I'm out, they either sit in the yard if its a dry day or under any car in the back street if its raining till I get back. 99% of the time, they are all in before I go to bed - granted I sometimes stay up later than I planned waiting for the little madam to come home!

This thread has triggered the memory of the family cat from when I was a kid who used to use the door knocker on the front door when he wanted in (letter box with knocker low down on the door). Unfortunately a friend of mine used to knock in exactly the same way and frequently the door was opened by mum already admonishing the cat she expected to find there for knocking 10 times in an hour rather than the sociable greeting my friend was expecting

GBNI

My boy never had a cat flap, he went out in the morning and then came home in the evening and that was him until the next morning. If he wasn't home until after I went to bed he just shouted VERY loudly and I was able to waken up to let him in.

He currently lives half feral on my OH's parents land/farm and is the happiest I have ever known him.