If you’re looking for pet access for your cat and don’t know where to start, you have come to the right place! We know how trying to find the right cat door or cat door alternative can be tricky so we’ve put together this cat flap buying guide to help you choose.
Step 1: Decide Where Your Cat Flap Will Go
The first thing to consider when choosing the cat door, is where you will be placing it. This is not a huge consideration when using alternatives such as our very own LockLatch. However, for your traditional cat doors where installation is permanent, you will need to ascertain where you will be installing it – which means what type of door you are installing the cat door into and whether you will be installing the pet door yourself? Two other important things to consider when choosing where to place your pet access are:
1: How DIY- Capable are You?
If you are installing the cat door yourself and want to save on professional help, then you would want to install your cat flap into a wooden door or use a window or door latch. The former will require less DIY know-how than other cat flaps and the latter doesn’t need almost any DIY know-how at all.
2: Is your cat already using a window as pet access?
If your cat has been using a window as pet access, changing over to a cat flap may cause some adjustment issues. If your concern is that you don’t want to leave a window unlocked for safety and security reasons, but your cat is happy, then why not opt for a lockable window latch? This will mean no re-training and radically reduced security threats.
Step 2: Measure and Budget
Once you have decided on where your pet access will go, choose a type of cat door that suites your budget, the door and size specifications. Measure the area beforehand to make sure the cat flap will fit, and take into consideration the material of the door.
3: Choose Cat Flaps or Cat Flap Alternatives
Once you know where the cat flap is being placed, what space you have, your budget and the material you are working with, the final step is to choose a cat flap type. Here is a breakdown of each cat flap to help you decide.
The Classic Cat Door:
This cat door is a two-way door, that allows your cat to come and go as it pleases. These are permanent installations, and in the case of cat flaps in glass doors or PVC door cat flaps some professional outside help may be required for fitting.. There are a variety of cat door types including the cheaper lockable cat flaps (which allow you to stop a cat from coming or going) and your high-end cat flaps that only allow access to your pet only via various technologies. These include Infrared cat flaps , magnetic cat flaps and microchipped cat flaps, and are fab – if you have the budget. Especially for neighbourhoods with a lot of other wondering cats.
Cat Flap Alternatives:
Lockable window and door latches such as LockLatch, allow you to keep windows and doors open but locked. This is brilliant for ventilation and security. It also means very little installation time and know-how, and is a far cheaper cat flap alternative for people who need the cat flap placement with a little more flexibility.
We hope these three steps will make it easier for you to choose your pet access and cat flap. If you have some more tips to add, we would love to hear from you. Comment below or email us at [email protected]
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