How to keep raccoons & possums away from my cat flap at night?

Hello, My guess is that it is a raccoon paw print. Healthy nocturnal animals are rarely viewed by humans due to their shy natures and ability to hide. I would recommend ensuring your cat is up to date on rabies vaccinations. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I have 5 cats and live in the same kind of environment. Our cats are also inside outside cats and I can tell you how we manage: 1) we feed twice a day wet food and call the cats for it. They come running for their food, we use the same call every time. This ensures that your cats come home when you call them. 2) Our cats are to be inside at night. ie we do not let them out after the evening feed. 3) they can go out if they wish, after the morning feed. Most predators hunt at dusk and dawn. So this minimizes the opportunity for contact of the cats with predators. If you can replace door handles with door knobs, the cats cannot open the doors anymore. We have been doing this for 12 years now, and have not lost a cat yet.

This is tricky! Since they are willing to use the flap when it is full open, try to tie it so that it is open a little less every day. Animals tend to adapt best to gradual changes. Consider even feeding them just outside of the flap (supervised so you aren't feeding the neighborhood!) once in awhile to encourage them to go out without as much direct coaxing. I hope this helps!

Unfortunately, it's impossible to say why this is happening. as to the flap, you may remove the flap for now and let the cats come and go. As they become more comfortable, put the flap back in and entice them through the flap with treats or food. They may be afraid of it. Sleeping in the litter box could indicate stress or illness. Make sure the cat is healthy and try to eliminate stress. Here is a great article about cat's instinctual needs: https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-every-cat-needs-a-place-to-climb/ Use a Feliway diffuser, set aside 30 minutes a day for vigorous play and/or switch the food to Royal Canin Calm. Most cats response best to combination therapy. The veterinarian can also prescribe medications which can help with house soiling. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think you are asking how to train your cat to not go through the door to the outside deck? Cats are very hard to train. You can use a noise deterrent or water squirt bottle to essentially scare Gracie from going near the door but I don't recommend that. It is environmental enrichment to allow cats to look outside. My suggestion is to keep the screen closed unless you are there on the deck. If you want to allow her on the deck when you can watch her then do so. There are ways to clicker train and positively reinforce animals to sit at the door and not go through it. This will take time and cats do not train as well as dogs. Have a great day!

It can be difficult to keep cats inside when they want to get out. First, I would recommend never taking Pawncho Jo (love the name!) outside through this door unless she is in a carrier - it is confusing to get to go out the door sometimes but not others. If possible, the best thing to do would be to confine her to another room when you are coming or going so that she can't access the door. This obviously wouldn't work in a busy house. I am usually reluctant to recommend any type of negative reinforcement for cats since it can lead to fear and undesirable behavior, but you could try making a loud noise when she approaches the door or using something like a Sssscat forced air can to scare her away.

I am so sorry to hear that this has happened. So very upsetting. If you can identify the entry point for the stray cat I would try and find a way to close it or prevent the cat coming in again. If the cat is in your house now and you feel you can get it out safely using perhaps a broom to scare it out without injuring yourself or the cat. I would suggest that. If not try calling animal control to remove the cat from your home.