Cat flap with timer

[fluffybunny]

Exactly what Sue said! I bought the sureflap with timer a few months back and after a few teething problems which customer services helped me to resolve (my cats have biotherm chips which weren't reading properly, so they told me about a hidden custom mode which changes the read frequency of the unit) and now I'm over the moon!

Our issue is that we have a neighbourhood bengal who kept coming in, and we were having to barricade the cat flap with a chair at night to keep our two in and to stop him from getting in.  I bought the sureflap and it has revolutionised my life!  I can now stay late at work, go out for the evening or go away overnight safe in the knowledge that my cats will be able to be safe in their house and safely shut in at night. I thoroughly recommend it.  Your kitty would need to be microchipped for it to work (they do come with a collar tag, but obviously if kitty loses the collar he cant get in) but if he isn't already I'd say it's worth doing in any case.

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Yes, the sureflap pet door (which is the bigger of the two models available) has a timer with a specific "curfew" function.  We have one and whilst we aren't using it in the summer months we used it last winter and it works very well.  Once the curfew time is set, the flap locks.  Any programmed cat still outside Will be able to regain entry to the house but won't be able to leave again until the curfew ends and the flap automatically unlocks.  The cats learn to listen for the telltale "click" of the flap unlocking.  This flap is worth its weight in gold so far as I'm concerned.  The boys adapted to it well and opportunist cats can't access the house which is an added bonus.  The flap can be bought direct from Sure flap, and their after sales assistance is second to none.  We've bought two of these flaps - the small one (which was a tad too small for our larger cat) and the larger pet door and the larger one with the curfew facility is definitely the best.

[mollycat]

Hi there,
Has anyone had success with a cat flap with a timer? At the moment we have one which we can manually set to 'in only' in the evening which is great as we don't let Bert out at night. Trouble is when we go on holiday that means Bert needs two visits, one to let him out and one to set it to 'in only' in the evening, and our neighbour can only come once a day. Would also be good if ever we're out when it starts to get dark.

Have read mixed reviews about the ones with timers and light sensors so wondered if anyone has one that works well?