Cat door - step-by-step instructions for choosing, installing and making a door with your own hands

Happy owners of pets, especially cats, know how difficult it is to constantly watch over your pet so that he goes outside for a walk or goes to the toilet on time. This problem can easily be solved by a cat door installed in the interior or entrance door. With its help, any pet can independently leave or enter the house without distracting anyone.

There are two ways to become the owner of such a door for cats: either purchase it in a specialized store, or make it yourself at home. In any case, this is a very necessary thing in a private home, which can make life easier for both the cat and its owner.

Cat doors come in different types. They vary depending on the size and type of materials used. The dimensions of the product may vary, it all depends on the size of the pet. The material is also used depending on the functional purpose of the opening. It can be a wooden, aluminum or plastic door.

According to the type of structure, all cat doors are divided into:

• Laz;
• Window;
• The door.

Features and purpose

A cat door can cover not only the entrance to the street, but also the opening in the interior doors. It gives the pet the opportunity to go outside or move from one room to another inside the home. Outwardly it looks like a small hole with a closing flap. The main function of cat entrance doors is to allow free movement.

These devices must meet certain standards:

• Have the required size;
• Easy to open and close;
• Be airtight;
• Combine with the interior.

In some cases, the doors are equipped with a lock, a brush for collecting hair, and various sensors.

It is best to make the hole while the kitten is still small, and it can be easily and quickly taught to use it. At first, without a door at all, then with a soft curtain, and finally with a full-fledged, durable sash with a spring.

Make holes

Press the drill bit firmly into each corner to create a small dent about half a centimeter from the guide. This will keep your drill bit from wandering as you drill through the steel. Once you have placed a dent in each corner, place the point of the drill bit into the dent and begin drilling slowly. You must go straight down through the door, thereby creating one hole in each corner.

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Advantages and disadvantages

When deciding to organize a passage through the door leaf for a pet, you should take into account its positive and negative aspects.

Clear advantages include:

• Eliminates the need to leave doors open or constantly let the cat in or out;
• Organization of unhindered movement of the pet, which does not cause stress and aggression due to closed doors;
• The cat hole in the door is sealed, keeping out dust and odors from the street.

The disadvantages include the lack of control over an independent animal, which can lead to accidents.

Also, shortcomings may be associated with incorrectly selected design and unsuitable materials.

How to do it yourself

Regardless of the chosen passage design, the DIY process begins with cutting a hole in the door leaf. In order not to violate the integrity, the hole in the door is located at a distance of 5-8 cm from the bottom edge. If the door system is paneled, then the lower element is not touched. A slot is made in the lower insert directly above it.

The canvas is removed from the box and laid on a flat surface. The square of the future hole is marked and a hole is drilled in one corner into which the blade of an electric jigsaw can freely pass. Then all that remains is to cut the material along the marks and remove the unnecessary part. At the end, the cut ends are sanded with sandpaper and coated with paint and varnish materials to protect them from damage, dirt and moisture. For decoration, you can make a frame around the cutout from slats like platbands.

If the hatch is installed in the door of the restroom, you can leave the hatch open, without any doors. However, it is necessary to take into account that the sounds of flowing water or odors will easily flow into the adjacent room, which may not be very convenient for residents.

It is very easy to install a sash in it that will open freely in different directions. The main thing is to take into account its weight so that the cat can open the door and walk through. It is best to use a piece of plastic for this or purchase any suitable product at a hardware store. A thin rubber plate or a dense piece of any fabric could be a good option.

The sash is secured to the upper end with hinges, its functionality is checked, and the leaf is hung back on the frame.

If the hatch is installed on the front door, you should consider a locking system. In a private home, there is a high risk of strangers or stray animals entering the premises, so installing a hook or latch is especially important.

But there will still be a problem with the penetration of cold from the street. If you install any sealed material, it will be difficult to open. And the sash will not be able to close completely under its own weight. Alternatively, you can hang some kind of curtain made of thick fabric from the inside and close the door if necessary, which completely eliminates its design independent of human participation.

Therefore, if there is an urgent need to install a cat passage in the front door, it is best to purchase a ready-made product and install it yourself.

Types of devices

If you pay attention to the photos of cat doors, you can see several types of structures made of different materials: Wood, plastic or metal.

All devices are divided into four main types:

• An open door without a leaf;
• A window with a simple hanging sash;
• Full mortise door with closing mechanism;
• Electronic door.

Each option has a lot of advantages and disadvantages that should be considered when choosing.

Cat tunnel

Pets in many families are practically full members of the family; accordingly, all modern advances should be available for their use. More and more owners are trying to devote as much attention and time as possible to various kinds of innovations, so a manhole ready-made or made by hand is no exception. It’s one thing if you live in a rural area and your pet goes to the toilet when going outside

But what about those families who live in cities? Apartments have many rooms and it is very important that the cat can get into each of them without problems. Surely, like most other owners, you also leave all the doors slightly open? Most likely, you are not very happy with this

The table shows the average door dimensions that are suitable for animals of average constitution. If you are going to make a cat hole yourself, it is better to use standard sizes. Table of examples of popular door options for pets

Opened door

In essence, this is a simple hole cut into the door leaf according to the size of the animal. It has no doors and is designed to allow cats to pass through interior doors. At the entrance to the house, such a product is sometimes installed only in summer country houses.

Its main advantages:

• Easy to manufacture;
• Easy installation;
• Unlimited movement of the animal.

The hole shape can be any. Its edges are usually trimmed with a strip of fleecy cloth or a brush to collect hair during shedding. However, the hole does not provide tightness and does not allow control of the animal’s movement.

A hole for a domestic cat (for the door to the toilet or between rooms)

The pet hole can be installed almost anywhere:

There is a wide variety of door openings on the market for cat products. Accessories from different manufacturers differ from each other in shape, material, size, and price. Each of them has both pros and cons. To choose the appropriate option, you need to study the features of the most popular models among consumers. Information about them is presented in the table:

If you are the owner of several purrs, then count on the most well-fed one. Add 5 cm to all parameters of the animal - this will be the size of the passage. If you don't want your sleep to be interrupted by a slamming door, don't cut a window into your bedroom door. Place such structures on the doors to the bathroom and toilet rooms.

A ready-made template, which you can buy in a store, is glued exactly in the middle of the product. Holes should be drilled in the corners of the doorway. The drill should be wider than the jigsaw. Work should be carried out wearing safety glasses and appropriate clothing.

Cat doors come in different types. Manhole is the simplest option. This is an interior solution, since it is not suitable for the role of an entrance door. This is a kind of hole through which the cat gets into the room it needs. In order not to spoil the design of the apartment, the manhole is made in an interesting and original shape. You can install special brushes. When the animal enters the room, excess hair will remain on the brush. Such a unique passage will become an ally in the fight for cleanliness.

Window with sash

The simple design resembles a manhole, complemented by a hinged door. The opening is usually rectangular or square in shape and is covered by a door that can operate in both directions.

• The door opens by simply pressing the head.
• With its help, you can limit the cat's movement by installing a clamp.
• The product is mounted, like a manhole, on interior doors or at the entrance of country houses.

Its main drawback is the loud knocking sound when the sash is closed and the risk of pinching your pet's tail.

What types are there?

The market is diverse and you can choose a product to suit every taste. Install cat gates in the interior or entrance door. There are these types:

• With a chip - it becomes open only when the tailed one approaches. The downside is that a cat door with a microchip requires a special device to be implanted into the animal’s body.
• With a key - equipped with a special magnetic key, which is located on the collar. When your pet approaches, the magnet is triggered automatically and the door opens. Can be configured for input only or output only. Suitable for small kittens who are accustomed to a collar.
• Grille with security locks - 2 and 4 variations. The tunnel for the cat has a limiter for entry and exit, and can be adjusted to only outward or inward modes. You can keep it locked and not allow the animal into the room.

Such a passage for a pet can even have an intricate shape.
There are also cat doors built into the wall. Each type is equipped with a tunnel for easy installation and passage of your pet through it. It has an automatic curtain built into it, which rises when a cat passes through it and then silently clicks into place. The systems can be easily locked with a magnet if necessary to completely isolate the cat in the room.

Electronic door

The design of the product is similar to a mortise door, but is supplemented with electronic sensors that protect the entrance from the entry of foreign animals into the home. Electronic doors are opened using a chip built into the collar of a domestic cat.

This system is ideal for country houses, since with the help of sensors you can track the movements of the animal and always know where it is.

Selection of quality accessories in the store

To choose the right door model for your pet, you need to answer a number of questions:

• where the passage should go - various rooms, a bathroom, a balcony, a street;
• the size and material of the product into which the cat doors will be installed;
• dimensions of the animal;
• a type of door that your pet will like.

The best way to choose the right type of aisle for your cat is to take your four-legged friend with you to the store. There, professionals will correctly calculate the dimensions of the animal and select the best option. If it is not possible to bring an animal with you, it is worth deciding in advance on the size of the pet, as well as the place where the selected product will be embedded.

There are certain brands that offer quality products. The most popular doors on our market are doors from Trixie and Ferplast. You can also purchase the desired product online, but you will have to pay extra for delivery.

Making a door yourself

Making an electronic door for a cat with your own hands is quite difficult, so it is better to purchase such designs in a store. You can assemble and install a simpler product yourself, which does not require much experience or specific skills.

The best option in this regard would be an interior passage with a door that opens in both directions.

Step-by-step instructions will tell you how to make a door for a cat of this type:

1. Prepare the door leaf for work by removing it from its hinges and placing it on a level place.
2. Take measurements of your pet and calculate the opening, taking into account a small margin to prevent getting stuck, injured and stressed.
3. Draw a marking in the shape of a hole.
4. Drill through the blade, insert a jigsaw and cut a hole.
5. Carefully sand the edges and paint. This will protect the end areas from moisture penetration.
6. Cut a sash from a plastic or rubber plate. Its dimensions should be 1 mm smaller than the opening, which will ensure free movement in both directions.
7. Attach the sash to the top of the opening using hinges or piano hinges.
8. Decorate the opening with platbands in combination with the finishing of the interior door itself.
9. Hang the interior door in its place.

Work on making a cat passage should always be done with the canvas removed. This will make it possible to do everything neatly and beautifully.

Every cat owner wants his pet to feel good and not experience any discomfort. Convenient passage to the street or between rooms will give the animal the necessary comfort and freedom.

cat door

There are many such devices. You can always purchase the best option at a pet store, and in extreme cases, making it yourself is not so difficult - unless we are talking about a metal entrance structure, of course.

Choosing finished products, as well as imagining your own handicraft, must take into account several factors:

• purpose of the passage - the door is installed only so that the cat can toilet, but also so that the animal can freely move from room to room, go out onto the loggia, and so on;

• material - the product can be made of aluminum, plastic, wood. The choice depends mainly on the sash material;
• sizes - from 10*10 to 15*15 cm, in some cases this is not enough;
• variety - there are several different types of models. Of course, it’s difficult to give an animal a choice, but the owner needs to take design features into account when choosing.

Photo of a homemade cat door

Which option should I choose?

Today there are a lot of options on the market in different price categories. The simplest plastic tunnel without a door will cost about 200 rubles. A silent programmable door with chip identification for a cat costs about 12,000 rubles.

There is no point in installing an option with a magnetic lock on the toilet door. If you are annoyed by the sound of a hinged door closing on a hinge, for example, in a bedroom, install a regular tunnel. You should also know the dimensions of your animal before purchasing so as not to make a mistake with the size. To do this, measure the length and height of the cat and add 10 cm.

Installation in different places

Cat doors are not just ordinary manholes that are inserted into the hole in the door leaf. The most interesting projects are intriguing in appearance, functions, and fit perfectly into modern interiors. Companies specializing in the production of such products offer many interesting options. The cat door is installed in:

• entrance doors;
• toilet;
• doors made of PVC, wood, metal;
• walls;
• garage door;
• window and door glass.

Modern catholes usually have a transparent flap that opens by pressing. The animal can freely come in and out whenever it wants. The flap is usually made of flexible plastic and is safe for your pet. There is a magnet at the bottom of the flap that allows the flap to always close automatically. This prevents unwanted heat loss; even with a strong gust of wind, the door will not open.

The frame comes in different colors, the most common are:

• white,
• silver,
• bronze.

It is possible to choose a color depending on the color of the door or wall where the hole is installed.

The high quality manhole opens quietly, almost silently. A special mounting kit is sold for the door; sometimes a tunnel for installation in thick walls is included.

The set usually includes a flap that closes the door during the period of long absence of the owners - departure. Some designs include a lock that allows you to choose the opening option:

• in both directions,
• inside,
• out,
• complete closure.

double glazed cat door

There is a kitchen, the window of which overlooks a glassed-in cold loggia. I would like to make a door in the double-glazed window of the right narrow window sash for the cat so that he can go to the loggia to the toilet. Has anyone done something like this?

put a sandwich in the door, it has a hatch for a cat, there are plenty of them now.

I want the cat to open this door with its forehead; the door should have hinges at the top.

I’m thinking about removing the double-glazed window from the right sash, and instead insert a shortened double-glazed window so that it rests on the sandwich, which has a cat door.

So, really, no one is doing this turnkey?

Neighbor wrote: I want the cat to open this door with its forehead, the door should have hinges at the top.

I’m thinking about removing the double-glazed window from the right sash, and instead insert a shortened double-glazed window so that it rests on the sandwich, which has a cat door.

So, really, no one is doing this turnkey?

Another point: the double-glazed window is heavy, and if you just put it on a sandwich panel, it will crush it over time, and a gap will appear at the top.

Neighbor wrote: Another point: the double-glazed window is heavy, and if you just put it on a sandwich panel, it will crush it over time, and a gap will appear at the top.

Neighbor wrote: There is a kitchen, the window of which overlooks a glazed cold loggia. I would like to make a door in the double-glazed window of the right narrow window sash for the cat so that he can go to the loggia to the toilet. Has anyone done something like this?

Neighbor wrote: There is a kitchen, the window of which overlooks a glazed cold loggia. I would like to make a door in the double-glazed window of the right narrow window sash for the cat so that he can go to the loggia to the toilet. Has anyone done something like this?

Neighbor wrote: in order for the cat to open this door with its forehead, the door must have hinges at the top.

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