Best cat door?

[cla517]

We need a cat door to put in the door between the house and the garage (we finally made a laudry room, so we can put the cat boxes out there!!) Do you have a cat door that you'd recommend? My cats are pretty large (in the 15 pound range) so I need a big one!

Thanks!

 

[rapunzel47]

We have a Staywell door, the model 919, I think. We've had this one maybe 5 years? It replaced the same model, which had been in place for 10? 15? years. The plastic used in the flap itself is tough, but two or three cats pelting through it in hot pursuit do take their toll eventually, and it cracked. I hasten to add that there were no sharp edges and the pieces just dropped out of the frame, so even then, it was safe.

These doors are readily available in my area, and there seem to be lots of options for purchasing online.

 

[GoldyCat]

I don't remember the brand of the one I got, but they come in different sizes. I like it that I can set the door to swing both ways, let cats in only or out only, or lock completely.

You can get more expensive ones that open in response to a chip in the cat's collar. The big problem with that is, the cat has to keep the collar on. Mine never will.

The instructions said to install it in the middle of the door, but I put mine in the corner opposite the door handle. My sister and BIL had some stuff stolen when somebody reached through the cat door and unlocked their door from the inside. (The cat door was there when the moved in. They sealed it up afterward.)

I got mine at either Lowe's or Home Depot, don't remember which. They had quite a few different ones with samples out so you could see how they work and how big they are.