Pampered Dog Blog

There’s one thing loveable about cats – they cat like they own you, the house, and everything else. That’s part of what allures us to cats. Mind you this behavior is also a source of problems for some cat owners. If your cat, for example, has been indoors for a long time, it may want to get out. They may pester you all day just so you’d let them out the door. Suppose you do let it out, and then worry later on when it will actually come back home. If want you to pamper your cat a bit and avoid being mewed into submission, you might as well start shopping for cat flaps.

Pet doors for cats are basically frames with plastic flaps that usually swing open both ways. Most models offer a simple but effective plastic flap you install on your door, but with other models, the flap has settings like open only, close only, open both ways, and lock. With some models, you can have a setting wherein the flap opens and then locks – good when you’re waiting for your cat to get home. So when your cat comes back, it stay safely inside your house.

There various cat flaps that can be installed on many types or doors, and even on walls. Sometimes the wall is thick that extra “tunnels” are needed to extend the frame into the wall. For those cat owners aware that cat flaps can let the heat out, there are insulated cat flaps that minimize energy loss through three (not just one) flap used. So whenever the flap opens and closes, there’s always a “pocket” of air that serves as barrier. The idea is one flap open means another behind it already closed off.

Cat flaps are also often smaller than flaps used by dogs. Because of that they are much less prone to being used by burglars. As per custom, the cat flap is installed at the bottom part of your door. That way, your cat won’t have to jump through.

Other pets and even a small-framed person can probably force its way inside your home through the flap; for that reason you might want to look into automatic cat flaps, or doors. An automatic pet door works this way – your cat wears a collar the door can “sense” and which will open only when your cat is near it. When your cat gets near enough, the door automatically open to let your cat in, or out. But you do need to make sure the batteries are charged – the batteries on the collar – or else the door won’t open or close, and your cat might not be able to get in or out.

So after you go through this checklist – whether you want automatic or normal cat flaps, whether you’ll be having a door or wall installation, and if you may need some extra “tunnels” for insulated flaps, you’re ready to purchase your pet door.