Murielaird,
From the sound of it, your neighbor's cat is paying uninvited visits
to your house. So, what's for lunch?
As you know, you can stop these drop-ins by using a battery (or cord)
powered electromagnetic cat door that comes with a magnetic "key" for
your cat's collar. When the electronic door senses the collar magnet,
it releases the latch and lets Kitty in.
You can see some of these doors at this specialist online store:
Pet Doors USA, Inc.
Electronic Cat & Dog Doors
http://www.petdoor.com/elecdoor.html
Now, you currently own a "Cat Mate" door, and your cat is already
familiar with its basic operation. Being the finicky creatures they
are, I'd suggest staying with the same brand of door, even if it means
that you might have to modify your rough door opening somewhat.
"Cat Mate" brand cat doors are sold in the United States and Canada,
and are also sold under the "Pet Mate" name in the United Kingdom.
Both are manufactured in the U.K., and the manufacturer's home page is
here:
Pet-Mate [aka Cat-Mate]
http://www.pet-mate.com/
There are three models of "Cat Mate" electronic cat flaps: a standard
and large size for wooden doors, and a standard size for glass doors.
You can see a comparison chart of all of them here:
Cat Mate - Pet Door Selection Chart
http://www.pet-mate.com/Cat_Mate/Flaps/Pet_Door_Selection_Chart_UK-US/pet_door_selection_chart_UK-US.htm
Full installation instructions and cutout templates come with Cat Mate
doors, but I called them and obtained the following measurements:
Cat Mate Entrance Size Rough Opening Cutout
Door Model # Height X Width Height X Width
-------------- ---------------- --------------------
#254 Standard 5-3/4" X 5-3/4" 8-5/8" X 6-5/8"
#256 Large* 7-1/8" X 7-1/2" 10-1/2" X 8"
*for cats over 22lb., or 14" and over shoulder height
You mentioned that your current door's dimensions are 7-3/4" x 8-1/2".
Assuming that this is the entrance size, it looks like the Cat Mate
Model #256 Large door would be the closest match.
If you have any further questions about Cat Mate doors, or would like
to find a dealer in your area, please contact their Customer Service
Department. You can call them directly at:
Canada and the United States: 936-760-4333
United Kingdom: 01932-700-001
You can also use their online form:
E-Mail Help Form
http://www.pet-mate.com/Support/Support_Whole_UK-US.htm
Before you buy, you might want to measure your cat just to make sure
that you get the proper size of door. Pet Doors USA has some
instructions here:
How To Measure Your Pet & Choose a Pet Door
http://www.petdoor.com/measure.html
Once the new door is in place and working to everyone's satisfaction,
keep quiet! Don't let the neighbors know, otherwise you might run into
the same house guest problem all over again:
Technocopia
The Ins and Outs of Cat Doors
http://www.technocopia.com/pets-19991101-catdoors.html
"... people generally find they [electronic doors] work well and have
no problems except for one woman who wanted to keep her neighbor's cat
out of her house. She purchased the electromagnetic door and loved it
so much she told her neighbor, who decided to get one for his cat.
Same brand, same magnets, same switches. The neighbor's cat had free
reign of two houses once again."
An escalation in hostilities: this means War! Fortunately, you can
still outsmart the intruder with a new set of electronic
countermeasures. For the ultimate in secure Cat Mate entryways, enlist
the help of these creative cat people:
Flo Control
http://www.quantumpicture.com/Flo_Control/flo_control.htm
Quantum Picture
P.O. Box 1284
Langley, WA 98260 USA
Email: boris@quantumpicture.com
Web: http://www.quantumpicture.com/index.htm
Hmmm... I wonder if Flo's owners are interested in airport security
work for the FAA? ;-)
Thanks for a great question,
Huntsman
P.S. - If you haven't heard it already, one appropriate cat saying is
"Whichever side of the door the cat is on, it's the wrong side."
Search Terms & Google Results -
"cat mate" cat door
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22cat+mate%22+cat+door |
