Dr.No

As I know there are many cat lovers on here, I thought I'd share a very useful product with you - which up until last week I didn't know existed (though, like many people claim, I'd thought of it myself a few years ago..)

It's a microchip operated cat-flap.

Last week I had to take my cat to the vets for his annual boosters, and put my standard cat-flap in "Inwards only" mode, so that he'd come in but not be able to escape prior to his vet's appointment...

He came in... BUT... at around 3am I heard some terrifc noises from the utility room, only to come downstairs and find pieces of my Staywell catflap strewn all over the place. Literally shards of white plastic everywhere... something (I'm guessing another cat) had obviously got in, scoffed my cats food, and tried to make good his escape. It knocked seven shades out of the cat-flap, which was now swinging happily in the breeze in either direction completey sans any sort of locking device.

I mentioned this story, and the fact that I needed to now buy a new cat-flap, to my vet... who told me about the microchip cat-flaps.

Now, after previously thinking that "he was spraying everywhere" when we originally moved into this house - which Mrs No and I took an obvious dislike to - we had his snadgers chopped off in an attempt to stop it. However, a few months post his emasculation the spraying continued - and it was only a few weeks later that we discovered that it had never been our cat, but another that continually entered the catflap at night scoffed food and sprayed everywhere! So - the idea of only letting our cat in had obvious appeal.

I'm not a fan of collars on cats, so the "magnetic" and "infra-red" operated cat-flaps seemed flawed and, anyway, any cat with a magnet on its collar could still get in.

So - this microchip flap is perfect! You program your cat in, by settting it to "Program Mode" and shoving him through the flap - and then in "Normal mode" it'll only ever allow your cat in through the flap, locking again 4s afterwards.

Additionally, you can set it to beep when the cat enters (it scared the **** out of mine, and as soon as the thing beeped he ran away!), you have a "vet mode" (inwards only), "night-lock mode" where it won't let the cat out at night (it's also got a photocell), and (if you ever want to use it) a "fully open" mode, allowing access to all and sundry.

It's really great - and the folks over at Pet Porte Microchip Cat Flap are really helpful as well.

The only downside is the cost, as it's around £100 (if anyone wants one slightly cheaper, PM me and I'll tell you where I got mine from).... but I reckon his snadger removal operation cost almost that!

Anyway, just wanted to tell you all about my latest find... as it's proven very good indeed.

DN

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

I'll second that. We had a problem with a local tom coming in and eating our cats' food, and when he started marking it as is own territory we decided enough was enough.

We got the same model and it works a treat; even our dim cat Jasmine, who would lose a battle of wits with a conker and whose chip is halfway down her back, managed to learn to open it within a in a few days.

Result: no more spraying and two much happier cats. The food we put out goes much further too and they've both gained weight.

The only problem is that in the event of a power failure it lets the cats out but not back in again... oops, sorry puss

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Well - we have no problem with our magnetic one. Apart from the hilarious results of our cat getting to close to the iron bedstead... meeyuuu <clunk>

Rusty cars in our area may also be missing odd bits of the floor pan when he's been around as well, as he does come home with the odd weird bit of rust attached.

It did however stop the big black moggie from coming in and nicking his food. Now he's bigger he chases it off anyway!

andrewdelvard

Wow, brilliant. We're just about to move house so this will be just perfect.

Dr.No

Yes Andy, I've certainly noticed the food (not inexpensive Hills Science stuff) going much further as well. I reckon I'll recoup the cost of the flap in food alone within a year or so!

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Oh, and if anyone is interested - you can get the cat flap through a wall if you really want - we did by using tunnel extensions all in a row. We actually have a cat flap at each end of the tunnel. Bit like a cat air-lock for getting in the house

I wonder if we could set up some form of automated flea spray when he came in?

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Well, there's a signal to drive the beeper...

I'm still waiting for flap that will recognise when the cat has something between its teeth and refuse to open - might be a bit harder to do (any image processing experts around?), but if it keeps the mice out then it'd be worth it

Dr.No

I know that feeling... My old house had only a double-glazed patio door to the rear - BUT had an ajoined garage.

So - I put a cat-flap in the rear door to the garage (which allowed the cat in and out of the garage, obviously) and then knocked a nice square hole through from my understairs cupboard into the garage and lined it with ply.

If I had the door to the under-stairs cupboard open / ajar the cat could come and go via the cupboard / tunnel / catflap... if I closed the door he was locked in. Also, as the entry method was slightly more complex it meant that only a few other cats worked it all out.

It did make for the occasional odd "Why is there a cat miaowing in your cupboard?" type conversation...

Obviously, you couldn't get microchip catflaps back then!

orbix

How thick are your walls?!
I have a image of a cat crawing through a 10' long tunnel system to the mission impossible tune.

What happens if you have a power cut while a cat is in between the flaps do they get quantined!

oldsplice

I suggested this idea years ago!

Strangely enough, we've spent the last couple of days trying to get one of the new 'Super Elite' cat flaps by Catmate



At the moment she's got one of the magnetic ones, but the magnet won't fit over the plastic bit on the 'quick release' collars. She's often come home with bits of 'treasure' (rusty nails, hinges etc) attached to her magnet.

The only thing that put me off the micro chip one is the fact that it doesn't work in a power cut.

Dr.No

If you're happy with the collars that everything else requires then the 'Super Elite' looks like the ideal solution - personally I'm not, so I've never been tempted by any of the other 'intelligent' cat flaps.

Yes, you can get 'quick release' collars etc. - which normally means that you need a ready supply of new ones, as they'll lose them on a regular basis... and as far as I'm concerned there's MUCH more of a chance of losing a quick-release collar (and hence the cat being stuck outside) than there ever is of a power-cut.

I've been in the current house for about 2.5 years, and I can remember a couple of brief 'blips' of power, and perhaps a power-cut of a few hours, but at least when the power resumes the cat can get in again. I've yet to see a cat yet that upon realising that it's lost its collar goes off and looks for it, succeeds in finding it, and then reattaches it so that it can gain entry!

Half the time they just sit outside another door and miaow until you let them in anyway!

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

standard double lined wall - breezblock, insulation, outside brick. We just got a HOOGE drill bit, drilled a circle (using the tunnel as a template and walloped it with a hammer.

I think we have about 6-7 extensions and the cat-flaps at each end. We do sometimes come home to find the cats **** sticking out the inside cat-flap while he surveys the world from the tunnel

Power cuts aren't a problem with our set-up as we have the magnetic one (and we've never lost a collar)

oldsplice

We always have a spare collar (fully elasticated) and magnet available as she has lost a couple when having 'discussions' with our neighbour's cat , although we've usually found them later.

The other thing we have to watch is that the battery hasn't run down. We've had the magnetic one for about 16 years now,but the 'Super Elite' has a disc on a split ring which can attach to the collar, rather than slipping on to it like the magnet.

Freelance Badger

Half the time they just sit outside another door and miaow until you let them in anyway![/QUOTE]

Mug!

oldsplice

YouTube - Simon's Cat 'Let Me In!'

Coffin Dodger

Cats should always have collars on, with a bell attached to give songbirds and other local wildlife early warning of their approach. Better still just don't keep cats in the first place.

Dr.No

Yes, just like they do in the wild.....

FFS - Do birds need bells on their feet so that worms and snails can hear them coming? Anyway, that's getting way OT and something that has been discussed on here numerous times. That's not the purpose of this thread...

Thanks for the highly constructive comment concerning your catflap experience Coffin Dodger...

bigvern

iTrader: (1)

Our little ginger winger is scared of the flap so we end up leaving it tied up, but as he has grown a bit the local cats seem to have stopped coming in. Repeated attempts to show him how to use it by stuffing him though it haven't worked...yet. Pass the Savlon.

Removed.

We have one of the magnetic jobbies, but our fat tart of a mog doesn't need a collar, as she uses 1 claw on her right paw to pull the flap open from the outside, it's quite clever really, and no way a strange cat is going to get in. Saves on the batteries as well.

Dr.No

LOL - Necessity is the mother of invention... and cats are far from stupid, especially when there's food to be eaten.

I'm just waiting for some smart Alec neighbourhood cat to realise that the flap stays unlocked for 4s, and to start 'tailgating' my mog through... though realistically I can't see it happening without a significant fight.

oldsplice

Put the food (preferably something strong smelling that ickle ginge loves......tuna/prawns) one side of the flap and him/her the other. Sometimes they don't like the way the flap comes down on their tail, but they will get the hang of it.

Removed.

Be a brave cat that tried to tailgate my mog, first of all they'd get a facefull of chocolate starfish, then they'd be confronted by a psycho ginger/tabby/tortie that probably is the champion of the local feline version of Fight Club. Think, Ray Winston in a bad fur coat

Coffin Dodger

Since when have domestic cats lived wild in the UK

Tw*t

Dr.No

<yawn> Since when did you ever make a constructive comment... so have an infraction!

Removed.

I believe they're called feral cats.

"A feral cat (or stray cat, alley cat) is a cat which has been separated from domestication, whether through abandonment, loss, or running away, and becomes wild. The term may also refer to descendants of such cats, but not to wild cats, whose ancestors were never domesticated."

Snazy

Hmmm do they do this system for dog flaps too ?
Keep meaning to get the mutt one.

Sounds a cool system and well worth the money too