How To Keep The Cat From Using The Dog Door { DIY Dog Door Hack }
This post doesn’t really have much to do with decorating, but it does have to do with solving a problem that keeps my pets safe and my house cleaner…trying to keep the cat from using the dog door, while still letting the dog go in and out as he pleases.
This is Winston. He is a 10 year old cocker spaniel who has been using a dog door for his whole life.
This is Chanel, a 4 year old cat who suddenly decided she wanted to use the dog door, too. The problems are that:
After doing a lot of research (trying to find products to buy that would fix this), I finally decided to try to update the dog door I already had. It uses a magnet along the bottom of the flap to keep it closed. So I figured I could add extra magnets. That would make the door harder to open, so that the cat couldn't open the flap, but not so strong that the dog couldn't go through.
I attached the larger magnet to the frame of the door, and the two smaller magnets to the flap so that they would meet up. And I placed them strategically...at the height that the cat is usually trying to push through.
Then I repeated on the other side. I actually put 2 sets of extra magnets on the right side of the flap (probably overkill) because that's the side the cat likes to use the most.
It's been two months, and the cat has given up trying to get out...so Winston has his dog door to himself! And the best part is that the whole thing cost less than $20.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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3 of 11 comments
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Beautiful companions! Smart fix. Our extradactyle cat learned how to unlock our cat door which was locked at night. Soon came the night he pushed the rigid flap out of the frame. Put it back and next he ripped the frame around the flap and the flap out, and we had to order a new cat door. Until my husband got home from New Zealand I started piling garage items in front of the cat door at night...an empty cat litter bucket and a heavy board. Not enough, so I added a hoe. Still not enough, so I added a teak and aluminum shower stool. He could still push everything out of the way so I added another item. BTW, he went to a neighbor's house and locked her cats in their cattery using his "opposing thumbs"! Love my animals.
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Too funny! That's one persistent cat :)
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This is the first and only seriously helpful thing I've found, to address the cat/dog door problem. I'm adopting a cat next weekend who has had a rough go of things (handed from home to home). He broke my heart, so I'm taking him. But I have to prevent him from going through my dog door. The electric collars and doors are a no go - they don't work around anything metal, and I have a metal door. And a washer and dryer nearby. Heavy duty doors won't work, as one of my dogs is 9 pounds, same as the cat. I am praying that adding magnets and some resistance to the flap will work. Thank you for this logical and non-expensive solution.
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Where did you get the magnets?
Where did you get the magnets?
how were you able to screw the magnets into the metal frame of the doggie door?