Cat Flap that holds itself open? Does this exist?

[raina21]

This seems like a silly thing to ask, but has anyone ever heard of a cat flap/door that holds itself open for a bit so that the cats can go through without getting their tails squished or feeling uncomfortable?

I have a cat flap on my door that locks. it has clear plexiglass/plastic as the door so the door is very solid and not soft or flexible. 2 of my 3 cats will use it (my other cat is still a kitten and doesn't quite understand it yet)  but it is very obvious it makes them uncomfortable and the door often swings down and closes on their tails before they can pull them all the way through. it also makes the loudest noise when it closes.  

so, I was wondering if there was some type of pet door that would momentarily hold itself open until the cat got through the door ( like one with a sort of hydraulic system that holds the door open longer or makes the door close slower, like the cat would push the door open and the door would slowly lower itself down).

I have been thinking about turning my living room closet into a hidden litterbox area and I would need to install a pet door into the closet door, and I'd much rather the door be fairly solid than one of the flimsy/ flexible flaps that are just a thin piece of plastic. The reason I prefer the solid doors is because it is going to be in  my living room and when my cats poo, it tends to smell quite a lot because 2 out of the 3 don't cover their poo half the time. The litterbox gets scooped 2-3 times a day so no worries about the litter getting too dirty and smelly in a closed up area, I keep it VERY clean.

so, if I can find a cat flap that closes slowly, that would be awesome. it's obviously not a requirement, as my cats will use the type of pet door I have now, I was just wondering if there was something out there that would be a bit more comfortable for them to use (ie something that won't squish their tails and/or make them uncomfortable, and preferably something that isn't as loud)?

sorry if this was a dumb question, just wondering if something like this exists. 

 

[Norachan]

I had a similar problem with my cat door. A few of my cats just couldn't figure out how to use it when we first put it in. I got a couple of those plastic hooks with the sticky backs and put one on the cat door and another on the panel above it. Then I tired a length of string to each hook so the cat door was open a few centimeters. They eventually realised that if they pushed it with their nose it would open all the way. If they are out and want to come back in they duck their head under the door and push it open with the back of their head and shoulders as they come through.

Not the most high tech solution, but it worked while they were all getting the hang of the door.

You need to have the hook on the door facing down and the one on the panel above facing up so the string doesn't slide off.

 

[raina21]

Norachan

It's not that they don't understand the door- because they do, it's that after they have walked through the door, it quickly slams shut and many times they don't have time to move their tails before the door slams shut, so their tails get squished. It doesn't seem to bother them too much, but I don't imagine it feels very good because, as I said earlier, it is a fairly solid door.

Also, they seem uncomfortable with using the door in general (but they will still use it if they want to get into my room).

 

[hiroze]

Norachan

It's not that they don't understand the door- because they do, it's that after they have walked through the door, it quickly slams shut and many times they don't have time to move their tails before the door slams shut, so their tails get squished. It doesn't seem to bother them too much, but I don't imagine it feels very good because, as I said earlier, it is a fairly solid door.

Also, they seem uncomfortable with using the door in general (but they will still use it if they want to get into my room).

I bought a cat door about a week ago and am running into the same thing. Did you ever find a solution for this? The door flap coming down on the tail must be bothersome, but it makes me cringe a little so whenever she's leaving my room, I'll actually get up and hold the door flap a little so it doesn't do this. But I can't do that forever obviously. Hopefully you found a fix that I can use too. Thanks!