Guidance and inspiration - cat doors

Remember to read the description in this guide or on the product page thoroughly before you buy, to see if you need, for example, an adapter or extra tunnels

See below what is important to you in a cat door	Suggested cat door
I have an ordinary cat under 7 kg, and would like to be able to keep the neighbours cats and other animals out. With or without extra tunnel elements, and can be inserted into a door, wall or glass.
I have an ordinary cat under 7 kg, and would like to be able to keep the neighbour's cats and other animals out, and at the same time keep my small dog or other cat inside, while the other can go outside. With or without extra tunnel elements, and can be inserted into a door, wall or glass.	Sureflap DualScan chip door – Scans the encoded chip from both sides of the flap:
I have a large cat over 7 kg, or a small dog, would like to be able to keep the neighbour's cats and other animals out, and be able to digitally control when the cat flap should open and be closed. With or without extra tunnel elements, and can be inserted into a door, wall or glass.	Sureflap Pet Door XL cat door with chip:
I have a cat over 7 kg. Neither a chip nor a magnet is necessary, you just need to be able to control the flap manually, whether it should be completely open, completely closed or open from one side. With or without extra tunnel elements, and can be inserted into a door, wall or glass.
I have a big and somewhat violent cat. The door must be strong, and it must be possible to lock it completely or leave it open..	Staywell 600 aluminium cat door:

 

Cat doors come in many different types and models, and it can be difficult to find your way around.

Here you will find a guide and instructions for cat doors that can help you make the right decision and choose the door that suits your needs. Our best-selling cat flap is a Sureflap chip flap, which works and opens via the chip that most cats already have under their skin. But we have many other types as well. There are ordinary 4-way flaps, there are 4-way flaps with a magnet, where the cat wears a collar with a magnet, which controls the opening and closing of the flap, and then there is an aluminum flap. Let's try to look at them in this guide.

A generally good piece of advice about cat doors is to place them where possible, where there is as much shelter from wind and rain as possible. No cat flap is 100% wind and waterproof, so it can be advantageously placed in a place where wind and rain do not directly hit the cat flap. 

Cat door with chip

With a cat door with chip control, you have the opportunity to decide for yourself which cats have the opportunity to enter. This can be a huge advantage, as the cat can firstly decide when it has to go inside, and without letting in strange cats and animals who might steal the cat's food or do other mischief in the house. Typically 32 cats can be coded in, and it is the cat's chip, which sits under the skin, that is registered. If the cat is not already chipped, you can have it done at the vet, or you can buy a chip that you can put in the cat's collar until you possibly get a chip under the cat's skin. No chip is included with the cat flap. 

Sureflap cat collar with chip

For example, if you have a 20 cm wall where a Sureflap is to be installed, you must use both extra tunnel elements and an adapter. The adapter is used so that the tunnels can be properly fixed together with the elements.

If the Sureflap door is to be installed in a door or other place where there is metal nearby, it must also be installed with an adapter, as all kinds of metal can confuse the RFID signal to the cat limb so that it does not work correctly..

Tunnel extensions for Sureflap cat door. 

When installing Sureflap in glass or in a wall with a tunnel

This applies to all Sureflap cat doors. If you need to install it in a glass door for example, you need an adapter. We recommend getting a glazier to make the hole in the glass and insert the Sureflap. We have an adapter for Sureflap in glass doors.

For example, if you have a 20 cm wall where a Sureflap is to be installed, you must use both extra tunnel elements and an adapter. The adapter is used so that the tunnels can be properly fixed together with the elements.

If the Sureflap is to be installed in a door or other place where there is metal nearby, it must also be installed with an adapter, as all kinds of metal can confuse the RFID signal to the cat limb so that it does not work correctly.  

Sureflap Pet Door XL with chip

Sureflap has produced this larger model which is intended for large cats and small dogs.

It works in principle like the regular Sureflap described above, but it is larger and more suitable for larger cats such as Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest Cat and other cats over approx. 7 kg. It has a digital display, so you can code the cat in and set precise times when the door must be open or locked. This can be a great advantage if, for example, you want to make sure that the cats cannot get out after a certain time once they have entered.

Regarding installation in a wall with a tunnel, installation in glass, and if you have metal near the chip joint, the same applies as in the description opposite of the regular Sureflap, that an adapter must be used. But the size is different and these are available:

Adapter Sureflap Pet Door XL and Tunnel elements Sureflap XL

Sureflap DualScan cat door with chip

Sureflap DualScan works like the first standard Sureflap, with the difference that the door reads the cat's chip from both sides.

If, for example, you have another cat or small dog that is not allowed to go outside, while the other one is allowed, this is the one you should choose. When the cat is coded in, it will be able to come in and out. Others who are not coded into the Sureflap DualScan cat door can neither enter nor exit.

Also remember the adapter here if the door is to be mounted in glass, in a wall with a tunnel, or if there is metal present in the area where the door is located, which can interfere with the RFID chip. Adapter and tunnels for Sureflap Dualscan are the same as for the standard Sureflap door.  

Cat door with magnetic control

As such, a magnetic control cat door  has no advantages over a microchip cat door, apart from being a cheaper solution.

Staywell 400 with magnet and 4-way lock

The cat door comes with a magnet and a collar, which is attached to the cat. Only cats with the magnet around their necks can enter through the cat door. The door is also supplied with a standard 4-way lock, so you have the option of manually controlling the door.

Staywell 400 can be installed in glass, doors, walls and bricks. You must remember to mount it at a height where the magnet will touch the bottom of the cat door when the cat has to enter. This is necessary for the door to open correctly every time.

If you have more than 1 cat in the household that needs to use Staywell 400, you can order extra magnets.

Ferplast Swing 7 with magnetic control

Ferplast Swing 7 works exactly like the Staywell member described above, and can be mounted in the same elements.

A magnet and collar are included for Ferplast Swing 7. But if you need extra magnets, because you have more than 1 cat in the house, they are available to purchase. 

 

Cat door with only 4-way lock

If you need a cat door without so many frills, just a door where the cat can go in and out and which you can control manually with a 4-way lock, there is a selection here. With the lock on the cat door, you can set it to be locked all the time, only open from the outside or inside, or completely open from both sides. If it is to be installed in a wall with a tunnel, we have separate tunnel elements that can be purchased for several of the models.

Ferplast Swing 5 with 4-way lock

Cat door in aluminium

This type of cat door has no locks. It is large, so it is suitable for large robust cats who may tend to be a little violent. The frame is built in aluminium, and the door itself contains strong rubber. At the bottom there is a series of magnets which keep the limb closed when it is not in use.

It can be closed completely at night, for example with a shutter lock from the inside of the house.