Making your own hole in the door for your pet is as easy as shelling pears. A door loophole for a cat can be of absolutely any shape: round, square, rectangular, oval, curly. The work consists of the following stages:
How to make a hole for your four-legged pet in a wooden door with your own hands:
Door for cats in the door "Trixie"
Features and purpose
A cat door can cover not only the entrance to the street, but also the opening in the interior doors. It gives the pet the opportunity to go outside or move from one room to another inside the home. Outwardly it looks like a small hole with a closing flap. The main function of cat entrance doors is to allow free movement.
These devices must meet certain standards:
- Have the required size;
- Easy to open and close;
- Be airtight;
- Combine with the interior.
In some cases, the doors are equipped with a lock, a brush for collecting hair, and various sensors.
It is best to make the hole while the kitten is still small, and it can be easily and quickly taught to use it. At first, without a door at all, then with a soft curtain, and finally with a full-fledged, durable sash with a spring.
Door advantages
The most practical feature is the cat door. A large assortment of finished products is presented in specialized stores. Here you can purchase not only the optimal color design, but also choose the appropriate size in accordance with the breed of your pet.
Comment! The doors, manufactured on a production scale, are resistant to moisture and are not afraid of temperature changes. This is especially appreciated when installed on entrance doors.
Some store-bought copies are equipped with a special sensor that interacts with the collar worn by the cat. This device allows you to recognize your own pet and freely let it in while reliably restricting access to other animals. Another useful point when arranging finished products is the installation of a magnet, which limits the movement of the door when exposed to a draft or wind. This does not have any effect on the animal's freedom of movement.
A door cat flap has the following advantages:
- The presence of a dense rim around the perimeter of the opening ensures the maximum level of insulation. Owners are not exposed to excessive street noise or cold air flow from the cracks.
- The cat is able to leave the house at any time and return to its place without causing inconvenience to the owners. The door will not slam loudly.
- The owners are freed from the risk of receiving uninvited guests in the form of neighbor's animals.
Plastic structures are preferable to products made from other materials due to their particular ease of use for cats.
Advantages and disadvantages
When deciding to organize a passage through the door leaf for a pet, you should take into account its positive and negative aspects.
Clear advantages include:
- Eliminates the need to leave doors open or constantly let the cat in or out;
- Organization of unhindered movement of the pet, which does not cause stress and aggression due to closed doors;
- The cat hole in the door is sealed, keeping out dust and odors from the street.
The disadvantages include the lack of control over an independent animal, which can lead to accidents.
Also, shortcomings may be associated with incorrectly selected design and unsuitable materials.
How to do it yourself
Regardless of the chosen passage design, the DIY process begins with cutting a hole in the door leaf. In order not to violate the integrity, the hole in the door is located at a distance of 5-8 cm from the bottom edge. If the door system is paneled, then the lower element is not touched. A slot is made in the lower insert directly above it.
The canvas is removed from the box and laid on a flat surface. The square of the future hole is marked and a hole is drilled in one corner into which the blade of an electric jigsaw can freely pass. Then all that remains is to cut the material along the marks and remove the unnecessary part. At the end, the cut ends are sanded with sandpaper and coated with paint and varnish materials to protect them from damage, dirt and moisture. For decoration, you can make a frame around the cutout from slats like platbands.
If the hatch is installed in the door of the restroom, you can leave the hatch open, without any doors. However, it is necessary to take into account that the sounds of flowing water or odors will easily flow into the adjacent room, which may not be very convenient for residents.
It is very easy to install a sash in it that will open freely in different directions. The main thing is to take into account its weight so that the cat can open the door and walk through. It is best to use a piece of plastic for this or purchase any suitable product at a hardware store. A thin rubber plate or a dense piece of any fabric could be a good option.
The sash is secured to the upper end with hinges, its functionality is checked, and the leaf is hung back on the frame.
If the hatch is installed on the front door, you should consider a locking system. In a private home, there is a high risk of strangers or stray animals entering the premises, so installing a hook or latch is especially important.
But there will still be a problem with the penetration of cold from the street. If you install any sealed material, it will be difficult to open. And the sash will not be able to close completely under its own weight. Alternatively, you can hang some kind of curtain made of thick fabric from the inside and close the door if necessary, which completely eliminates its design independent of human participation.
Therefore, if there is an urgent need to install a cat passage in the front door, it is best to purchase a ready-made product and install it yourself.
Types of devices
If you pay attention to the photos of cat doors, you can see several types of structures made of different materials: Wood, plastic or metal.
All devices are divided into four main types:
- An open door without a leaf;
- A window with a simple hanging sash;
- Full mortise door with closing mechanism;
- Electronic door.
Each option has a lot of advantages and disadvantages that should be considered when choosing.
Rating of cat doors
- Trixie window for cats;
- Ferplast Swing Microchip – automatic door with microchip detector;
- Flamingo leaf door;
- Trixie 3867 XL Large Cat Door;
- Ferplast Swing 7 set – with magnet.
Trixie cat window – choice for interior doors
The passage for a cat in the door is like a “window”. The model is made of white plastic. The movable shutter is transparent. Suitable for cats of all ages and small breed dogs. Product dimensions: 17.7×18.7 cm. Hole depth – 17-34 mm. The depth can be expanded with additional elements.
- Plus: quiet mechanism.
- Minus: does not have locks.
Price: 1742 rub.
Opened door
In essence, this is a simple hole cut into the door leaf according to the size of the animal. It has no doors and is designed to allow cats to pass through interior doors. At the entrance to the house, such a product is sometimes installed only in summer country houses.
Its main advantages:
- Easy to manufacture;
- Easy installation;
- Unlimited movement of the animal.
The hole shape can be any. Its edges are usually trimmed with a strip of fleecy cloth or a brush to collect hair during shedding. However, the hole does not provide tightness and does not allow control of the animal’s movement.
A hole for a domestic cat (for the door to the toilet or between rooms)
The pet hole can be installed almost anywhere:
There is a wide variety of door openings on the market for cat products. Accessories from different manufacturers differ from each other in shape, material, size, and price. Each of them has both pros and cons. To choose the appropriate option, you need to study the features of the most popular models among consumers. Information about them is presented in the table:
If you are the owner of several purrs, then count on the most well-fed one. Add 5 cm to all parameters of the animal - this will be the size of the passage. If you don't want your sleep to be interrupted by a slamming door, don't cut a window into your bedroom door. Place such structures on the doors to the bathroom and toilet rooms.
A ready-made template, which you can buy in a store, is glued exactly in the middle of the product. Holes should be drilled in the corners of the doorway. The drill should be wider than the jigsaw. Work should be carried out wearing safety glasses and appropriate clothing.
Cat doors come in different types. Manhole is the simplest option. This is an interior solution, since it is not suitable for the role of an entrance door. This is a kind of hole through which the cat gets into the room it needs. In order not to spoil the design of the apartment, the manhole is made in an interesting and original shape. You can install special brushes. When the animal enters the room, excess hair will remain on the brush. Such a unique passage will become an ally in the fight for cleanliness.
Window with sash
The simple design resembles a manhole, complemented by a hinged door. The opening is usually rectangular or square in shape and is covered by a door that can operate in both directions.
- The door opens by simply pressing the head.
- With its help, you can limit the cat's movement by installing a clamp.
- The product is mounted, like a manhole, on interior doors or at the entrance of country houses.
Its main drawback is the loud knocking sound when the sash is closed and the risk of pinching your pet's tail.
Manufacturing materials
Wood is most often used to make such structures. Both the manhole frame and the door are made from it. Cheaper designs are made of plastic. Therefore, they are also very popular.
Rubber seals and inserts are also used for such structures. These elements prevent the doors from knocking on the frame of the manhole, and also improve the sound insulation of the structure. For independent decorative finishing of the cat passage, you can use various fabric materials.
Electronic door
The design of the product is similar to a mortise door, but is supplemented with electronic sensors that protect the entrance from the entry of foreign animals into the home. Electronic doors are opened using a chip built into the collar of a domestic cat.
This system is ideal for country houses, since with the help of sensors you can track the movements of the animal and always know where it is.
Benefits of installing an outdoor pet door
A do-it-yourself door designed specifically for the free movement of cats into an interior or entrance door is a fairly practical solution.
There is no need to equip a special toilet for an animal inside a residential building, or to constantly buy litter for it to replace the used one. This causes additional troubles and expenses for the owners.
The animal, having the opportunity to go outside at any time, never goes to the toilet under the door, in a corner, or other secluded place in the rooms of an apartment or private house.
Making a door yourself
Making an electronic door for a cat with your own hands is quite difficult, so it is better to purchase such designs in a store. You can assemble and install a simpler product yourself, which does not require much experience or specific skills.
The best option in this regard would be an interior passage with a door that opens in both directions.
Step-by-step instructions will tell you how to make a door for a cat of this type:
- Prepare the door leaf for work by removing it from its hinges and placing it on a level place.
- Take measurements of your pet and calculate the opening, taking into account a small margin to prevent getting stuck, injured and stressed.
- Draw a marking in the shape of a hole.
- Drill through the blade, insert a jigsaw and cut a hole.
- Carefully sand the edges and paint. This will protect the end areas from moisture penetration.
- Cut a sash from a plastic or rubber plate. Its dimensions should be 1 mm smaller than the opening, which will ensure free movement in both directions.
- Attach the sash to the top of the opening using hinges or piano hinges.
- Decorate the opening with platbands in combination with the finishing of the interior door itself.
- Hang the interior door in its place.
Work on making a cat passage should always be done with the canvas removed. This will make it possible to do everything neatly and beautifully.
Every cat owner wants his pet to feel good and not experience any discomfort. Convenient passage to the street or between rooms will give the animal the necessary comfort and freedom.
Installation of door extensions.
Extensions are installed only if the wall thickness is much greater than the thickness of the door frame. If the wall thickness is 2-3 cm greater, then you can do without additional additions, but you will need telescopic platbands. They are made in the form of a corner and allow you to cover part of the wall. In addition, the door frame must be adapted for this type of platbands; it must have the necessary grooves.
Interior door installation diagram.
So, let's set the extras:
Let's start with the top panel. We measure the doorway from the side where the extension will be installed.
We measure the doorway.
- Cut the additional strip to the required size.
- We install the extension in place and note how much it needs to be trimmed so that it is flush with the wall.
We make markings on the board.
Cut the extension to the required size.
We're sawing more.
We install the extension into the doorway and wedge it.
The extension is installed in the doorway and secured with wedges.
We do the same with the side panels: measure, cut and install in the opening.
The side and top panels are installed.
We apply foam between the doorway and the extensions. At the junction of the extension and the door frame, we apply a continuous layer of foam. Thus, when the foam expands, it will tightly press the extension to the box. In all other places, foam should be applied pointwise, in small quantities. This volume of foam will be enough to firmly glue the extensions. If you apply a lot of foam, the foam will squeeze the extensions into the inside of the opening.
We foam the space between the extension and the doorway.
