Cat Flaps - Choosing the Right One for Your Cat

There's one thing loveable about cats - they cat like they own you, the house, and everything else. That bossy demeanor, you have to admit, is part of what makes cats so great to have as pets. But that princess-like persona can backfire, especially when the cat can't have its way. 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. One solution to this is to start shopping for cat flaps - unless you want to both get constantly annoyed by the pestering and the follow up worry.

If you look it up online, pet doors meant for cats are just flaps - flexible plastic that can be mounted on doors for cats to get through. 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. Some models have an option that opens one way and then lock - good for locking up for the night. That way your cat can't get out when it comes back in, a setting you will need.

For many types of doors, and even on walls, you will find many kinds of cat flaps. When you choose to have your cat flap installed on a wall, you might need some extra "tunnels" in case the wall is thick. For cat owners who live in cold regions, there are also cat flaps that offer insulation in the form of several layers of flaps - 3 in fact. So whenever the flap opens and closes, there's always a "pocket" of air that serves as barrier. By the time your cat walk out the outer flap, the middle and inner flaps have already closed.

Compared to flaps used by dogs, cat flaps are generally smaller. This reduces size if one reason they're not popular as a thieves' entry point. 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. With automatic flaps, your cat wears a collar that triggers the door to open when the cat is near it, and close when your cat has walked a distance from it. So that means only you cat can enter. 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.