Microchipped cat flaps

Brambling

My neighbours young cat has found my cat flap and is now making himself at home, eating my all my cats' food etc and being a PITA, my cat is a grazer so is hungry when I get home.  He's a lovely friendly kitten although he's now not so fond of me as I put him out if I catch him, 6 times in less than an hour Sunday morning.  But my cat isn't happy and is easily stressed, he didn't have a easy start in life.  The kitten is 7 months and yet to have his op ✂️ So I'm aware there could be issues there as well, fights and spraying I was told a month ago that the op would be soon

i don't want to go down the route of a magnetic catflap as he's not used to a collar and I prefer not to put one on him so I'm thinking of a microchipped cat flap and was hoping I could get recommendations or if anyone found problems with them?  He's not the most confident cat flap user I taught him to use it when I rehomed him a couple of years ago when he was 5 so I don't want one if there's too much of a delay in it opening once he gets to it or otherwise might cause him to be afraid of it.  He's a slow learner it took him two months to use the current one and if he has a choice he waits for me to open the door but during the day he has no choice.  It would also need to lock as he's shut in at night 

The irony is I was advised by the Cat Protection that he had to be a only cat as fought with his litter brother and has the scars to prove it, but currently he seems scared of this young cat once he comes indoors (however not when they're outside) and hides 🙄 not that I want the fur to fly 

SootySweep1

Hi
Ours is a sure flap and we've been very pleased with it.
The only issue we've had is as the cat puts their head through to come in there is a click. This is from the catflap reading & recognising the chip and then releasing the catch to allow them to come in.
My cats didn't like the clicking noise & it took them awhile to accept it.
Jen

Brambling

Thanks SootySweep I think he will dislike the clicking noise, so I may have to wait for better weather so it doesn't matter so much if he's hesitant about coming in and sits outside for a while 

djp64

Another vote for sure flap - had it for 10 years and it's still going strong.  With two cats the batteries last about 6 months and it's survived lots of paw battering in efforts to defend the territory against intruders : ) Ours got over the click very quickly.

djp64

Meant to say that we encouraged them past the click problem by having a treat waiting on the other side.  This hastened their quick adoption : ) 

Deep_In_Debt

Another one for Sure Flap. My cats learned how to use it very quickly (within a day) but they did get a little scared of the click it made but they soon got used to it.  

Brambling

Thank you after some more kitten wangling today, it sneaks in quieter than my cat I will be looking at Sure Flap.  Hopefully it will fit in the same door panel 🙂

[Deleted User]

I've the sure flap too, only one of five cats will use it, the others just put their heads near to make it click so I get up and let them in 

piquant

Another vote for sure flap. My two rescue cats have been using it for years. A treat the other side removed all worries about clicking noises! 

Brambling

I will admit to be worried that the clicking will put him off and as he's not fond of human food I can't bride him with tuna or chicken.  If he's in the right mood dreamies sometime work.  Those with rescue cats know they can come with baggage 🐕. I'll have to weigh up whether what causes him less stress and can it wait until Easter when I home for a few days.  

If I can catch my neighbours I'll ask about it's op.  Unfortunately some of the problem is they are out a lot including all day yesterday and this morning so I don't think it's just the food he comes in for 

hb2

We used one of the magnetic flaps but my cat kept losing his collar, so it really wasn't working for any of us! We have had a Sure flap for a few years (it is now installed in the outside wall of our lounge in our current flat) and our cat adapted to it quickly. IIRC, you can change how long the door stays open after it has been activated by the chip. We set it for longer at first but don't want it too long in case another cat follows directly behind ours - which is likely if they are fighting.