Our cat loves the outside now he's got a catflap in the back door, problem is we can't shut it or he goes mental and tries forever to push his way through.
I've noticed the last few nights as I've been up late that two different cats, much larger than ours have been helping themselves in throgh the catflap and at our cat's food and water.

Obviously I don't want this happening!

Any advise?

I've seen them magnetic catflaps but been told they are useless so don't want to waste £40 on one.

I'm seriously thinking about camping in the bedroom window with a BB rifle and hunt the buggers down to scare them away

I know you are saying that as a joke, but I have had to deal with too many injured cats harmed with air rifles, to find it funny. Sorry to give you a hard time, but working as a volunteer at a cat rescue center makes me a little sensitive.

I can vouch for the magnetic catflaps they certainly worked for my cats and kept out unwanted guests! (apart from the little guests the cats brought back in their mouths!)

I've had a magnetic catflap in the past & it's worked really well in keeping other cats out. As long as your cat is happy to wear a collar then there should be no problem. Unfortunately my neighbours have the same catflap so my problem is stopping one of my cats sneaking in next door!

I think you can also get catflaps that open by detecting the microchip in your cat. However since I've had dogs no other neighbourhood cats have dared venture throiugh the catflap!

I think the ones with the microchip embedded under the skin in the cat's neck are the only ones that work 100 %

Ideally, you should shut your cat in at night with a litter tray, as the night time is when most cats get injured or go missing.

It's also at dawn when they hunt the most and kill birds.

The chip portes work the best as you suggest.

Sometimes I get strangers in but not very often as my Impossible Princess guards her flap fiercely and gives intruders a hard smack around the chops. It is funny to watch.

As for killing stuff, two mice and three birds in 2 and a half years is a good statistic. I would think. She prefers snakes and slow worms. I have not met a cat with the same fascination for reptiles.

we use the microchip one..well mr pip does..not us of course..that would be odd.

he has learnt how to alter the settings tho so gets out when we want him to stay in.

we have to train the new addition how to use it once she is able to go out.

much prefer the microchip option as mr pip is always loosing his collars.

I've had a magnetic catflap (the Catmate brand) for fourteen years and it has always worked fine at keeping out other cats (other cats have certainly tried to get in, but failed).

I can't see what can go wrong with it as long as your cat is happy to wear a collar. As long as the intruding cat doesn't wear a magnet he won't be able to get in unless he follows your own cat through it very very closely.

The microchip flaps look good, although they are more expensive and the ones I have seen need to be wired to an electric socket (the collar magnet variety work on a battery).

+1 for magnetic cat flap, costs more but does the trick nicely.
Moved to a new home and had this problem. Then we got a labrador puppy last year......never had an unwanted guest ever again

ours works on battery,didnt want one wired into the mains,think it was about £90.

I can 100% vouch for the microchip cat flap. It has been the best purchase we have ever made for our cats. We have had it nearly a year now.

We used to have an intruder "White thing" coming in our house and eating the food, fighting my other cats etc and one day I spoted the microchip website. clicked into it and ordered one that day!

Ours does unfortunately use the electric, but we do have a socket in the cupboard by the door so we use that.

It has been brilliant, both cats adapted really well, it has a handy "beep" when one is going out or in, which we love especially if they are not in so we try to guess which one is in! and to this day haven't had the "White thing" in once. A really great purchase. It is expensive in comparison with the £40 magnetic ones, but as my cats don't wear collars, for me it has been worth it. About £100 but best to check on the website.

www.micropchipcatflaps.co.uk

Is yours this one ppaupy?

http://www.sureflap.co.uk/details.htm

The Petporte is the one that requires a mains connection from what I remember, and that wouldn't be practical for us. The sureflap looks good, definitely worth it for someone who can't get on with the collar magnet version.

Wow, I haven't seen this one before. Seems the same as mine but just with batteries!

yes!! thats it and where we got it from..ours has been fitted since feb this year and works a treat.

I will remember that for the future if needs be
(At the moment we don't need it as nothing would dare come past our current male Burmese)

lol

when we have our back door open in summer even tho we have a choc lab we still have the odd cat wander in....hes so dozy he tries to give them one of his toys.

Just put out some extra food and let them get on with it. They're not exactly jewelery theifs or vandals.

You do find *this funny then?

Its part of having a cat that they sometime bring in dead (or half dead!) rodents/amphibians/birds.

Certainly not funny not funny "dealing" with it, but looking back it brings a smile to my face.

I suppose my memory rests on one of my first cats "Mr Zoinks", he used to bring back these presents upstairs and I would wake to find I was sharing a bed with half a mouse. Fairly gross, but I would give my life, to have just one more minute with "Mr Zoinks" and his gifts. Memories, my memories... how long can you stay to haunt my days?.

RIP Mr Zoinks 1934-1941

The only thing my beautiful cat brought in was a realy baby bird. It was hours old and she was so pleased with herself. She meowed and dropped it at our feet and carried on meowing until we took notice. Sadly we lost her to a RTA shortly afterwards

Do you let people come in and help themselves to your fridge and cupboards? Doubt it!


Thanks for all your suggestions, I think I might either try the magnetic catflap or just have to face the fact I have to lock him in at night.
One of the cats came in last night and had the cheek to just stare at me and came closer when I looked at him shocked, then carried on eating our cat's food!! I then tricked it by calling him/her over, picked it up and threw it over the garden wall!
Might sound nasty but it's becoming a real problem now as my cat keeps looking behind him when eating his food any time of the day now he's so scared, and always looks out the catflap for ages before actually going.

None of the cats I've seen are wearing collars so the next thing might have to be a phonecall.

You THREW him over the garden wall!!!!!

If I saw anyone throwing a cat over a wall I would throw them over it too. Grrrrrr!!! You make me so mad (LOL), do you really think we will fall for this old troll!

Go and waste someone else time, we are too clever for you here. Anyone got a link to some troll spray?

Grab a cuppa - this is our story of cat flaps...

Years ago we had an ordinary cat flap, and a local moggy bully would come in and steal our cats' food and generally stress our cat out. (This bit's a bit hazy and hubby and I can't quite recall why we were fiddling with the cat flap) ANYHOO... DH was fiddling with the cat flap, but the hole wasn't big enough or something, and we had to go down to Homebase for something. It was left that the cat flap could open inwards, but physically couldn't open outwards...

When we got back, we discovered the local bully had come in and was eating the food. When he saw us, he panicked and ran around our ground floor (the layout is such you can do a complete circuit!). We opened the dining room doors so's he could get out, and then tried to round him up towards this door. Except he was still panicking, and ran back the way he'd come in... next thing we heard was an almighty bang, and ran into the kitchen to see there was no cat, but a huge hole in the plastic cat flap which he'd literally run through! We like to imagine it as one of those cartoon events where you'd see the outline of the animal, but no, there were just shards of plastic on the ground...

We then got a magnetic catflap which our cats then and now use successfully. Well, apart from our boy cat losing his collar YET AGAIN I've had to tape the switch down so's he can get in and out.

I've been thinking about the microchip one, but I might have to persuade hubby to part with that amount of money.

it is well worth it for the microchip one as if we had the magnetic one we would have had to have 9 new collars since having the cat ..less than a year..

and now we have a second cat would be even more money on collars.

Just a little update on this thread, I've recently fitted a Pet Porte microchip cat flap after getting fed up with a big grey cat that's been in eating my cat's food, a couple of previous interlopers had been caught given a mouthful of Tabasco and sent on their way never to return, however this grey cat when cornered like Chawton smashed its way out of the existing cat flap, it was temporarily repaired with Araldite but when replacing it I decided to get a microchip flap as my cat is already chipped.

Installation was easy having a hole already in the door and the electrical cupboard near by with a socket to plug in the power. Programming in the cat was a doddle and I've left it on default (any one out but only my cat in), works a treat, even now leaving the kitchen door open at night so my cat can get to her food (I used to keep it shut in the hope the other cat would give up coming round).

Wish I bought one years ago (to be fair they didn't exist years ago), worth shopping around mine was only £84, but seen them as much as £130+.

I'm so glad you've solved the problem for both your pocket & your cat! Seems like microchip catflaps are worth the money.

But I can recommend getting a dog as a great (but more expensive) alternative!