Seeking Pet Door Advice

[FalTorPan]

My wife and I are converting the third bedroom of our three-bedroom home into... a bedroom. To this point the room has been used for storage, as well as the place where we keep our two cats' litter box. Now that my wife and I are expecting our first child, we're going to move the litter box into the garage, and we'd like to install a pet door into the wood interior door to the garage.

In addition to our skinny older cat and our chubby younger cat, we have a small dog who could probably fit through any door that both cats could fit through.

We don't want the dog to get through the door, because we don't want her to get into the litter box. (With the litter box in the third bedroom, we use a baby gate to keep teh dog out. The cats just jump over it.)

I'm open to all suggestions, but we seem to have two options:

* Use a "smart door" that only allows RFID-chipped pets through. I'm not fond of implanting anything into the cats, but maybe it's not such a big deal.

* Use a magnetic door that only allows pets with magnets on collars through. Our cats never go outside, so I've never made them wear collars. I'm not sure how well this would work.

What would you recommend? Thanks in advance!

 

[RoJoHen]

Does your dog have a collar? You could put one of those electric fence things on the door so your dog knows it's out-of-bounds.

 

[FalTorPan]

We don't typically put a collar on either the dog or the cats.

 

[RoJoHen]

I honestly don't know anything about dogs, collars, or pet doors. My cat's litter box is out in the open.

 

[FalTorPan]

Our primary goals are (1) to use the current "cat room" as the baby's room, and (2) to put the litter box somewhere that's accessible to the cats, yet inaccessible to the dog (and the baby).

Our house is small, so in terms of locations that meet both goals, the garage is the least of the evils.

 

[RoJoHen]

Yeah, I understand what you're saying. I just don't have any knowledge to give you advice. I'm just talking for the sake of it.

 

[FalTorPan]

No problemo. Thanks!

 

[Mary Ann]

If you're not fond of implanting anything into your cats does that mean that they're not microchipped? Even indoor cats should be microchipped in case they ever escape, especially if they don't wear collars with info tags. It would be much less traumatic for the cats to receive a single implant for the pet door (I didn't know they came with implants. Cool!) than for them to suddenly have collars forced on them. I can well understand wanting to keep your dog away from the litter box, as my dogs have always tended to treat them as all-you-can-eat buffets.

 

[trekkiedane]

* Use a "smart door" that only allows RFID-chipped pets through. I'm not fond of implanting anything into the cats, but maybe it's not such a big deal.

* Use a magnetic door that only allows pets with magnets on collars through. Our cats never go outside, so I've never made them wear collars. I'm not sure how well this would work.

What would you recommend? Thanks in advance!

There is a third option: elevate the litter-box so dog can't get at it. - If the cats can jump over a baby-gate and the dog not -then you have the elevation (do, however, keep in mind that older cats might not be able to jump very high as they get pains and aches just like people.

 

[FalTorPan]

There is a third option: elevate the litter-box so dog can't get at it. - If the cats can jump over a baby-gate and the dog not -then you have the elevation (do, however, keep in mind that older cats might not be able to jump very high as they get pains and aches just like people.

That's a great point. I've become concerned about the older cat's ability to jump the current baby gate.

Last night I ordered a pet door that runs on a 9V battery and responds to a magnetic tag that hangs from a collar. If the cats can become accustomed to collars, then hopefully this solution will work. (Crosses fingers)

Update: I just put a collar on the older, more finicky cat, and he didn't mind it at all. I guess I was making a mountain out of a mole hill!

 

[T'Girl]

If you don't mind some advice on placement of the door itself, you might want to put the cat door through a wall, as oppose to in you existing garage door.

It's much easier to cut through a couple piece of dry wall than through a solid wooden door. And later if you want to sell the house, it's also cheaper to repair a wall than buy a brand new door (over a hundred).

 

[Starbreaker]

They'll probably even grow to love their collars and get pissed off if you ever remove them.

 

[Vanyel]

If you don't mind some advice on placement of the door itself, you might want to put the cat door through a wall, as oppose to in you existing garage door.

It's much easier to cut through a couple piece of dry wall than through a solid wooden door. And later if you want to sell the house, it's also cheaper to repair a wall than buy a brand new door (over a hundred).

Good idea, but before you cut make sure there are no studs in your way. The studs are evenly spaced (16 to 24 inches depending on if it's a load bearing wall or not), however the door frame throws that first stud off, and could put it too close for the pet door making its placement impracticable.