Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: Karon on November 12, 2009, 11:41:30 AM
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I'm new here and thought I could pick your brains on cat flaps.
I'd like to get a cat flap put in our door so that the cats can come and go without me having the door open all the time one of us is at home (like we have done for the past 10 years). It would be quite nice to heat indoors rather than the great outdoors :)
2 problems though. a) It's a uPVC door and I'm not sure how easy or otherwise it is to fit a cat flap to one of them? and b) I don't like them going out at night, but one insists on going out at stupid o'clock (any time between 1 and 3) in the morning so I have to crawl out of bed, find my way downstairs and let him out. I'd prefer him to be in between 7pm and 2am or so, at least, really. Is it possible to get a cat flap with a time release on it so it stays locked between specific times? It would also be locked while we're both at work, so really would only be used for early mornings and an hour in the evening.
I'm beginning to talk myself out of this idea - maybe it's easier just to leave the door open ;D
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I have fit a flap on a UPVC door and not problem.
However You can get flaps that can be put to shut , open, in only, out only although if a cat is really determined they cam break throuigh.
There are very expensive flaps that worl of a cats collare and others that read a chip but not sure any will do what you have been doing.
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:welcome: to Purrs, Karon: glad you found us and decided to join ;D
I've just had one of these installed (on Monday) http://www.sureflap.co.uk/ and I see from the instruction booklet that they can be fitted into UPVC. It doesn't have any sort of timer on it though. It is quite neat-looking and does mean that you can prevent other cats gaining access to your home.
I don't work for SureFlap, by the way. I bought mine from Pet Supermarket online.
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That looks interesting, are the ones that work off a chip reliable (and can they be used in a multi cat household)?
One of ours - the one who wakes up at stupid times, Baldrick - taught himself to use next door's cat flap so I'm sure he'd soon pick up that sort of thing and the rest would probably just not bother much anyway. Baldrick also brings home other people's cats to share with us!
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Hi and :welcome: to Purrs Karon, glad you've found us :) you should get lots of helpful advice here, sorry I can't help on the catflap front though as never had one fitted lol
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That looks interesting, are the ones that work off a chip reliable (and can they be used in a multi cat household)?
I can't comment on performance yet as Blip is still learning how to use it but I do know you can programme in up to 32 microchipped cats. It would stop Baldrick bringing his friends in :evillaugh:
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:welcome: to Purrs.... :)
We have one of those cat flaps that Gill has mentioned (open, locks in out etc). If we want the puds to stay in cos its raining hard or whatever, we have to put the wash basket in front of it cos a couple can pull it open....They have ripped the metalic strip off often! :sneaky:
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We ended up keeping one of his friends! Poor little chap, unwanted on his original home - they knew where he kept coming to and I kept taking him home and in the end we kept him. :)
In a pub I used to work, the ferrets could open the cat flap and would escape, letting the cats out in the process!
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Pet porte has several functions one of which is night mode, it stops cats exiting once light levels drop (you can alter settings a bit either way)
Theres scope in the future to have selective exit eg of 3 programmed cats you could stop one going out but leave the other 2 with normal access.
Baldrick is a fab name btw :wow:
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That sounds like it might be useful (all ours are chipped already anyway) - I will look into it and see if I can convince OH that he can put a cat flap in the door without me having to replace the door. Even if I can shut them in when it's dark, that would help.
Baldrick is a fab cat :) Full of trouble, but a total darling.
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I made a mistake before: ours is a SureFlap :-[ Sorry, SureFlap :-[
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Thanks again, Christine - I'll look into those as well. IF I can persuade OH that he is capable of putting a cat flap in the door, that is. No use me trying, it would be quicker to buy a new door :rofl: