Guide · · 4 min read
How to keep your cat in at night with a cat door
Night is when cats get hit by cars, fight and hunt. A cat door makes keeping them in easy: a dinner-time routine, the in-only setting at dusk, and locked until morning.
By the Pet-Tek International team, Auckland — designers of Catwalk® and Dogwalk® since 1999.
Ask a vet when cats get into trouble and the answer is usually the same: at night. Cars are harder to dodge in the dark, the neighbourhood toms are out, and birds and other wildlife are at their most exposed. Keeping your cat in from dusk to dawn takes most of that risk away, and the SPCA suggests it as the first step for owners who want their cat to stay closer to home. A cat door makes it easy, because the door itself can do the policing.
The routine that works
Cats are creatures of habit, and food is the habit that matters most. Build the night around it.
- Move dinner to dusk. Give the main meal just before dark, every day, at the same time. A cat that knows dinner is served comes home for it.
- Late afternoon: in only. Turn the cat door’s 4-way dial to in only an hour or so before dinner. Your cat can come home through the flap, but once it is in, it cannot slip back out.
- After dinner: locked. When your cat is inside, turn the dial to locked. The flap no longer opens either way.
- Morning: open. Set the dial back to open both ways after breakfast.
Give it two or three weeks. Most cats stop waiting at the door within days once they learn the flap does not open at night, and many start turning up early for dinner.
Make inside worth staying for
- A litter tray in a quiet spot, cleaned daily. If it lives in the laundry, an internal cat door lets you keep that door closed.
- A play session before bed. Ten minutes with a wand toy uses up the energy your cat would have spent outside.
- A high, warm bed and a window to watch from.
- Water and, for night owls, a small late snack.
What the 4-way dial does
Every Catwalk® and Dogwalk® door comes with the dial fitted: open both ways, in only, out only, or locked. For a night routine you only need in only and locked. It is on the inside of the door, so nobody outside can change it. If yours has become stiff or broken, a replacement locking dial fits without taking the door out.
The same two settings get you through Guy Fawkes and New Year, when keeping pets in after dark matters most.
Keeping other cats out, too
A locked flap keeps everyone out overnight. During the day, a plain flap lets any cat in. If a neighbour’s cat is eating your cat’s food, choose a door that only opens for your own cat:
- The Catwalk® Multi-Magnetic (wood-fitting) or Multi-Magnetic glass-fitting opens only for a cat wearing its collar magnet. No batteries.
- The SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap reads the microchip your cat already has.
Our microchip vs magnetic guide compares the two.
Want it to lock itself?
If you are often out at dusk, the SureFlap Microchip Pet Door Connect can run the routine for you. With the SureFlap Hub (sold separately) plugged into your router, you set curfew times in the free Sure Petcare app; the door locks and unlocks on schedule, tells you when your cat comes and goes, and still only lets your registered pets in. It suits large cats and small dogs. See the full SureFlap range.
Starting with a new cat or kitten
It is easiest to start young. A kitten that has never been out at night does not miss it. Keep a new cat inside for its settling-in weeks first (see what age a kitten can use a cat door), then introduce the door with the night routine already in place. Our training guide covers the first week with the flap.
Still choosing a door? Start with how to choose a cat door in NZ, or find your door in about a minute. Questions: info@petnest.co.nz.
Quick answers
How do I keep my cat in at night?
Feed the main meal at dusk so your cat comes home for it, set the cat door's 4-way dial to in only in the late afternoon, and turn it to locked once your cat is inside. Unlock it again in the morning. Most cats settle into the routine within a couple of weeks.
Is it better to keep cats in at night?
For most cats, yes. Night is when road accidents, cat fights and hunting are most likely. The SPCA suggests starting by keeping cats home at night, and kittens adapt fastest if the routine starts young.
Can a cat door lock automatically at night?
A Catwalk door is locked by hand with its 4-way dial. The SureFlap Microchip Pet Door Connect, with the SureFlap Hub (sold separately), can run curfew times from the Sure Petcare app, locking and unlocking itself on schedule.
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