Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in 'guillotine' panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes about sharpened edge, baited with tuna etc).
I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But I need some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something like 10-20mm wide at the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and able to accept a 3-4mm board sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would be adequate, sturdy plastic or aluminium would be ideal.
I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to hold the hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably some way to scavenge or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking, alloy channel for fixing greehouse glass or summink?
Got a router or tablesaw? Or at a pinch (and if you dont value your fingers) a circular saw?
If so, make a 20mm square U shape from any bits of wood and put a groove down it using whatever tool does it best for you. A 'normal' circular/ tablesaw blade will give you a 4mm slot, more if you set the blade slightly off centre and rip it both ways round.
Or, thinking creatively, let the bloody cat out. It'll come back when it's hungry.
Dunno about J shaped channel but you can certainly get U shaped channel .Would that not do .Glue it on to whatever is behind and cut the board to fit it .. You can get these mouldings in Sheds in those containers that they have near the timber area . Richard Burbridge does them as well I think . OR Get a new cat flap .One that locks .
I don't know about J section, but you should be able to get some U section aluminium extrusion from a metal stockist. Assuming you want to screw it to the door, you can drill some holes in the front face of the channel big enough to get the end of a screwdriver through.
Alternatively, could you not just put a simple bar across, near the bottom, to stop the flap opening? This could be pivoted one end so as to swing out of the way when necessary, with the other end pushed into a simple bracket when you want to keep the flap shut - or maybe two, a parking bracket and an operating bracket.
Alternatively yet again, doing a quick Google for 'cat flap' suggests that there are locking cat flaps - which may fit the bill - and those which only respond to *your* cat by reacting to a magnetic gizmo on its collar. So, presumably, if you remove the collar, the flap won't open when the cat approaches.
Thanks Paul - I could also make some channels by sandwiching 3 layers of thin material, clamped & glued etc, or by routing a length of planed timber to a thick L shape, but I'm still holding out for an off-the-shelf bodge solution (or a graceful serendipity if you prefer).
Yeah, we tried that - the vet's bills are eye-watering though. Damned thing staggers home after 3-4 days with half it's fur left and limbs hanging off, but then seems keen to go out and do it again as soon as the bandages are off....
My neighbour's cat has three homes, it's own, mine and another neighbour - depending on what mood it is in and what you feed it. It has a collar with a magnet so when it goes near the catflap it will open to allow it in to next door's house. Once inside it can't get out unless the catflap is switched to allow this. The catflap can be set for incoming, outgoing or both. It usually sits at the back or front door here and will come in if the door is open. If it's cold out it will sit on the window ledge ! For your catflap you need to glue some very small trunking around the edge inside. Then slide a piece of plastic or wood down in to it. Arrange it like a squared U shape. Don't forget the litter tray by the door as the cat might have a reason for going out. I wouldn't bother about it staying out, they all come home when they're hungry or cold, cats are very intelligent. Far brighter than dogs.
Yeah, we had one of those - cat just ripped it to bits: quite spectacular, really.
I fitted a similar slide-in guillotine; actually I just used a few screws around the perimeter, with the heads left proud to act as the retaining lugs - intention was to find and fit proper guides, but never got round to it, and it worked fine.
Mind you, ultimately the 'guillotine' also needed to be fitted with a removable peg through a hole, as the little (not so little TBH) bugger worked out how to slide it up...
Our cat would have taken the hinges out in that situation.
I suspect he's already tried those.
Yes, but they generally only lock in the 'inward' direction. We thought of something like that but it didn't work for that reason (we were trying to keep one cat in but allow the other to go out).
Amazing that no-one has yet produced a cat flap that reads the cat's RFID chip, instead of the heavy magnets.
I wonder about a simple flap, same size as the cat flap, hinged horizontally about the flap. Two turn buttons or similar, one to hold it up out of the way, and one (perhaps a bit more complex since cats can be very dextrous) holding it shut over the cat flap.
My Google search found one or two which appear to do this - but I didn't suggest it to the OP 'cos such a device would be difficult to selectively disable - whereas something on the collar . .
You have to watch the magnetic ones... I'm reposting this story here as the content of the site may be a little strong for the weaker-spirited amongst you dear readers ;-) (cue a rush to read the rest of the site...)
The original is at
================== This story concerns two friends of my parents; Nick and Jill.
Nick is a good humoured guy of great patience. Jill is extremely houseproud and tends to get uptight about things like interior decoration. They live in a large Victorian sandstone house that they have renovated over the last two decades.
They had a cat called Bimbo. Bimbo was a lovely cat; a ginger female that had been brought up with their two children, and had never posed any problems.
Then they redid their kitchen. Black tiles; granite surfaces; anything that could be lifted had to be chrome. To accommodate Bimbo, they installed a catflap that was activated by a magnet on her collar. The whole thing looked fantastic- like something out of a catalogue. They were understandably chuffed with their efforts.
The cat, on the other hand, seemed less than pleased. They would put food in her bowl and come back to find it spread across the tiles. It happened every time they fed her- she would seemingly shun her food and throw it across the kitchen, covering the cupboards and floors.
Jill was not pleased. Her new kitchen was being violated several times a week. She became convinced that Bimbo was succumbing to old age- she was around 16 at this point- and started to talk about having her put down. Nick convinced her not to act so rashly; they could train the cat out of her behaviour.
Around a week later (with no change in moggy behaviour) they were sitting in their living room. The door was open.
Nick spotted a ginger blur.
"Jesus, I've just seen the cat run by with its bowl under its chin!"
Jill was understandably skeptical, but followed him out to the hall. There they found Bimbo and her beautiful chrome bowl surrounded by cat food.
Nick picked her up with one hand, and picked up her bowl in the other. He spoke to her in the exasperated tone familiar to anyone who has ever tried to train a cat.
"Why do you keep doing this?" he said, waving the bowl close to the cat's face. "You're making such a mes..."
At that point the chrome bowl pulled itself to the catflap magnet on Bimbo's collar. The cat let out a helpless 'miaow'.
The poor thing had been starving over the previous fortnight- every time she'd tried to eat, her bowl had stuck to her collar and she'd panicked.
Bimbo lived to around 19 and died of natural causes. She ate the rest of her meals from a ceramic bowl. ==================
Tell me about it. I have the same problem with the wife.
Three suggestions:
Your local shop-fitters.
Your local plastics warehouse. If you've never been to one, you'd be surprised what weird shit they keep in stock. They also usually have a scraps bin that they're happy for you to plunder so, for the quantity you need, you might get something free that you can adapt.
MFI or Ikea. Scrounge around the bargain corner - there might be bits and pieces kicking around. Do Ikea have spares at customer services? Ask at MFI. There might just be a bit kicking round from an ex-display.
Nah, the simplest solution is to get a different style cat flap. The Staywell series 700 have a slide-down barrier and cost less than £10 from various on-line suppliers. At that sort of money, a DIY solution just ain't worth the hastle.
The 900 series have 4 way locking: fully closed, out-but-not-in, in-but-not-out, and fully open. We have five cats and only the three-legged one has worked out how to open the flap to get out when it's set to in-but-not-out - she hooks a claw into the edge of the magnetic strip and lifts the flap until she can get her head under it, then she's gone!
They have. One of my staff at a former job fitted one. I think he had to import it. It reads the standard RFID tags fitted to pets by the vets. You can program several in (he has two cats).
Long before these existed commercially, I tried to make one with a magnet and reed switch. Got to the point where it worked quite well on the bench, so I fitted the magnet to the collar. Next time the cat came in, there was a trail of rusty old ironmongary trailing from her collar. I gave up on the idea.
We've got two cat flaps - outer one "locks" - yeah right that's why we have a third cat now. It has a magnet in but a very determined cat after 3 months learnt how to open it.
The inner one is a guiloteen closing one. At the last house a cat ate and mangled the guiloteen bit and ruined it. This one has lasted longer mainly because we've only used it for short periods.
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