Account Activation Troubleshooting

Having trouble setting up your Our Cat Herder account? This guide walks you through the activation process and how to resolve common issues at each step.

How Activation Works

When a portal admin adds you as a member, you receive an activation email containing:

• An activation link to open in your browser
• A 6-digit verification code to enter at that link
• A temporary password to use for your first login

The activation steps are:

1. Open the activation link from the email
2. Enter the 6-digit verification code
3. Log in with the temporary password from the email
4. Choose a new password when prompted
5. Log in with your new password

If any of these steps fail, follow the troubleshooting sections below.

The 6-digit code is not accepted

This almost always means you have already completed the verification step. The code can only be used once.

To resolve this, skip the verification step entirely and perform a password reset:

1. Go to https://ourcatherder.com/forgot
2. Enter the email address your admin used to add you to the portal
3. Check your inbox for the password reset email
4. Follow the link in the email to set a new password
5. Log in with your new password

TIP

Your portal admin can also send you a password reset from the Members area of the portal if needed.

Password reset email not arriving

If you do not receive the password reset email:

1. Check your spam or junk folder — password reset emails sometimes get filtered by email providers. Look for an email from Our Cat Herder or notifications@ourcatherder.com.

2. Check you are using the correct email address — your portal admin may have added you with a different email than you expect. Common causes include:

   • A personal email was used instead of a work email (or vice-versa)
   • A variation of your email was used, such as firstname.lastname@email.com instead of firstnamelastname@email.com. Even if you receive mail at both, Our Cat Herder treats them as separate addresses.
   • If you use Apple's Hide My Email feature, the randomly generated relay address is different from your real email. Your admin must add the relay address, or you must provide them with your actual email instead.

3. Ask your admin to confirm the exact email they used when adding you to the portal.

4. Corporate or school email filters — some organisations use email filtering that blocks or quarantines messages from unfamiliar senders. If you are using a work or school email address and the reset email has not arrived, check with your IT department whether emails from notifications@ourcatherder.com are being blocked.

5. Wait a few minutes — email delivery can sometimes take up to five minutes, depending on your email provider.

Password does not meet requirements

When setting a new password, Our Cat Herder requires a strong password. Your password must meet the following criteria:

• Between 15 and 72 characters long
• Contains at least one uppercase letter
• Contains at least one lowercase letter

Use a Password Manager

Due to these requirements we recommend using a password manager such as 1Password, Dashlane or your browser's built-in password manager. These tools generate and store strong passwords so you do not need to remember them.

Login fails after setting a new password

If you have successfully set a new password but cannot log in, work through the following checks in order.

1. Verify you are using the correct email

The email you type on the login page must exactly match the email your admin used to add you.

2. Double-check your password

It is worth taking a moment to carefully re-enter your password, even if you are confident it is correct. Small details are easy to miss:

• Caps Lock may be on without you realising — passwords are case-sensitive
• A space at the start or end of the password can be introduced when copying and pasting
• You may be entering the temporary password from the activation email rather than the new password you just set

Click the eye icon next to the password field to reveal what you are typing and check it carefully. If it still does not work, try typing the password into a plain text editor (such as Notepad or TextEdit) so you can inspect it, then copy and paste it into the password field.

3. Check your password manager

If you use a password manager, verify that:

• The new password was saved correctly after you set it. Some password managers require you to manually confirm the save.
• The password manager is filling in the correct entry. If you have multiple Our Cat Herder accounts or similar entries, the wrong credentials may be auto-filled.
• Try copying the password from your password manager and pasting it directly into the password field to rule out typing errors.

If you do not use a password manager but your browser offers to save passwords, check that your browser's autofill is not entering an old or incorrect password. You can verify this by clearing the password field completely and typing the password manually.

4. "Corporation not found" error

If you see an error message such as "Corporation not found", this typically means your browser is not sending the authentication cookies that Our Cat Herder needs.

Fix for Safari users:

Safari blocks cross-site cookies by default, which can prevent Our Cat Herder from working correctly.

1. Open Safari Settings (or Preferences on older versions)
2. Go to the Privacy tab
3. Ensure Prevent cross-site tracking is unchecked
4. Ensure Block all cookies is unchecked
5. Go to the Advanced tab
6. Ensure Use advanced tracking and fingerprint protection is unchecked
7. Close and reopen Safari, then try logging in again

If the issue persists after these changes, try a different browser to determine whether the problem is Safari-specific.

Fix for other browsers:

1. Make sure cookies are enabled for ourcatherder.com
2. If you use a browser extension that blocks cookies or tracking (such as an ad blocker or privacy extension), try disabling it temporarily for ourcatherder.com
3. Try using a private/incognito window — if login works there, a browser extension or cached data is likely causing the issue
4. Try a different browser — if the issue persists, try logging in with a different browser to determine whether the problem is specific to your current browser's settings or extensions

5. Check browser extensions

Browser extensions can interfere with Our Cat Herder's login process, even if they work fine on other websites. Extensions that block cookies, scripts, or tracking are the most common cause.

Extensions known to cause issues:

• Ad blockers — such as uBlock Origin, AdBlock Plus or AdGuard
• Privacy/tracking blockers — such as Privacy Badger, Ghostery or DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials
• Script blockers — such as NoScript or ScriptSafe
• VPN browser extensions — some VPN extensions route traffic in ways that interfere with authentication

How to check:

1. Open a private/incognito window (most browsers disable extensions in this mode by default) and try logging in. If login works in the private window, an extension is almost certainly the cause.

2. If login works in the private window, go back to your normal browser window and temporarily disable your extensions one at a time, trying to log in after each, to identify which one is causing the issue.

3. Once you find the problematic extension, either disable it entirely or add ourcatherder.com to the extension's allow list/whitelist so it does not block Our Cat Herder. Most extensions allow you to exempt specific websites from their filtering.

Quick test

The fastest way to rule out extensions is to try logging in using a private/incognito window. If it works there but not in your normal window, an extension is the cause.

6. Login page keeps redirecting back

If you enter your credentials and the page redirects back to the login screen without an error message:

1. Clear your browser cache and cookies for ourcatherder.com. Visit refreshyourcache.com for instructions specific to your browser.

2. Check cookie settings — follow the Safari or browser steps above to ensure cookies are enabled.

3. Avoid using old bookmarks — if you have a saved bookmark or link to the portal, it may be pointing to an outdated URL. Instead, go directly to www.ourcatherder.com and click Sign In.

4. Try a different browser — if the issue persists, try logging in with a different browser. If login works there, the issue is specific to your original browser's settings or extensions.

5. Close your browser completely and reopen it — do not just refresh the page. Closing all browser windows clears session data that a simple refresh does not.

6. Check your internet connection — an unstable connection can sometimes cause login redirects. Ensure you have a stable connection and try again.

7. Corporate or school networks — some workplace or school networks use firewalls or web filters that block cookies or restrict access to certain websites. If you are on a managed network, try logging in from a personal device or a different network (such as your mobile phone on mobile data) to rule this out. If login works on a different network, you may need to ask your IT department to whitelist ourcatherder.com.

I can log in but cannot see my portal

If you can log in but do not see the portal you were invited to:

1. Check if the portal appears in the list at the bottom of your My Details page. You may need to click the Switch button next to it.

2. If the portal is not listed, confirm with your admin that they added you using the exact email you are logging in with.

3. Your admin may have removed you from the portal after the invitation was sent. Ask them to verify you are still on the Members list and to confirm the exact email address shown next to your name.

Still having trouble?

If none of the above steps resolve your issue, contact Our Cat Herder support at support@ourcatherder.com. Include the following details to help us assist you faster:

• The email address you are trying to log in with
• The name of the portal you are trying to access
• The browser and device you are using — if you are unsure, visit whatismybrowser.com. The site will detect your browser and system details automatically. You can then copy your unique URL from that page and paste it into your email to us, or use the site's "Send to Tech" button to email the details directly to support@ourcatherder.com
• A description of the error message or behaviour you are seeing
• Any steps you have already tried

Related

• Password Troubleshooting — additional help with password and login issues
• Multi-Factor Authentication Issues — troubleshooting MFA codes not working
• Member Quick Start Guide — full activation walkthrough with screenshots