Passive Cat Flap

[Barney12]

 Bit short of time this morning (I have 1 tonne of tiles to collect and shift ) but I know the subject of passive flaps have caused mulch debate! So I finally lost the argument and a cat flap was a requirement. 

 

So I parted with a not insignificant sum of money and bought the medium door from Petwalk. I have to say it’s a seriously well engineered peice of kit. I’ve got to finish the wiring and need to find some of that braided cable sheath to tidy the cable.

 

I’ll try and add some more detail later but in the mean time I’ll let pictures and a little video do the talking. 

 

This is was definitely a measure twice, three, four, five times and cut once operation! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2018 by Barney12

[Onoff]

1) Where's the cat?

 

2) Does it have to wear a collar with a "key" on?

 

 

[Barney12]

3 minutes ago, Onoff said:

1) Where's the cat?

 

2) Does it have to wear a collar with a "key" on?

 

 

 

1. I don’t have one.

2. No. RFID chip enabled so it read the cats identiication chip.

[newhome]

Is it for a tiger? Looks huge! 

 

Impressed if it consistently reads the chip. My bloody chip reader takes ages to find one of my dog’s chips sometimes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[joe90]

Stupid question Barney but if you don’t have a cat why the cat flap ?

[Onoff]

30 minutes ago, newhome said:

Is it for a tiger? Looks huge! 

 

Impressed if it consistently reads the chip. My bloody chip reader takes ages to find one of my dog’s chips sometimes. 

 

It's that big it contains a vet who climbs out and scans the cat for you!

[newhome]

What happens if it doesn’t read the chip until the cat is up close to it (when inside) does it open and smack the cat in the chops? 

[Onoff]

5 minutes ago, joe90 said:

Stupid question Barney but if you don’t have a cat why the cat flap ?

 

A) He's planning on getting one but can't find one expensive enough to match the cat flap.

 

B) He's got a dog!

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, Onoff said:

1) Where's the cat?

PMSL. 

"Kids....say NO to drugs!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still laughing.......

[newhome]

2 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

It's that big it contains a vet who climbs out and scans the cat for you!

 

That’ll account for the cost then. To offset the vet’s callout fee! 

[Nickfromwales]

Just now, newhome said:

 

That’ll account for the cost then. To offset the vet’s callout fee! 

Especially for when you find half of the cat inside and the other half outside. 

ACME Kitty-snipper 2000 Mk1 ....."every home should have one" lol. 

 

 

[newhome]

6 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Especially for when you find half of the cat inside and the other half outside. 

ACME Kitty-snipper 2000 Mk1 ....."every home should have one" lol. 

 

 

 

And here’s step 1 of that mental picture 

 

 

[Nickfromwales]

1 minute ago, newhome said:

 

And here’s step 1 of that mental picture 

 

 

Nope, the other end of him is in the passive litter tray  Thats the look a cat has when its thinking "good luck with that....see you in an hour, im off out for the dust to settle". 

[joe90]

36 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

 

B) He's got a dog!

 

Ah, didn’t know that ?, I’ve told er indoors we are not having a cat flap into the house as it will upset the MVHR ?but have conceded to allow one into the conservatory. Wish me luck.

[Onoff]

1 minute ago, joe90 said:

 

Ah, didn’t know that ?, I’ve told er indoors we are not having a cat flap into the house as it will upset the MVHR ?but have conceded to allow one into the conservatory. Wish me luck.

 

This is where somebody on here has your address and sends Mrs @joe90 the Petwalk brochure...

 

[newhome]

I used to have a dog flap 2 houses ago. One of my dogs would fly out in the middle of the night to bark at some imaginary burglar, and the dogs would chuck things in through the dog flap that I really didn’t want in the house; bones, sticks or whatever. Or took things out that I would rather had stayed inside! Kept it locked after that. 

[joe90]

I installed a large dog flap for a neighbour once, he had Alsatians, I pointed out it was large enough for a burgular but he was adamant the dogs would see them off. Later he caught someone trying to break into his garden shed and his dogs just sat there watching him!

[dpmiller]

Ah but GSDs (and some other large breeds) have this habit of letting the stranger in, but not out again (in one piece....)

[Barney12]

4 hours ago, joe90 said:

Stupid question Barney but if you don’t have a cat why the cat flap ?

 

Forward planning.  

 

[Barney12]

4 hours ago, newhome said:

Is it for a tiger? Looks huge! 

 

Impressed if it consistently reads the chip. My bloody chip reader takes ages to find one of my dog’s chips sometimes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The unit itself is huge but the actual opening (look at the outside picture, dark grey) isn’t that big. They do make a large version though but you’d need to put it in a wall, too big for most standard doors  

[Barney12]

One of the clever features it that it has a door contact so that if the door it’s mounted in is open it won’t operate (and smack into the wall etc).

 

Ill try and remember to take a video of the locking mechanism. It’s Austrian engineering at its best  

[Barney12]

4 hours ago, newhome said:

Is it for a tiger? Looks huge! 

 

Impressed if it consistently reads the chip. My bloody chip reader takes ages to find one of my dog’s chips sometimes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From  what I've read this can be an issue, as it is with all readers. Apparently vets sometimes put them too deep or they shift after insertion.

[newhome]

20 minutes ago, Barney12 said:

 

From  what I've read this can be an issue, as it is with all readers. Apparently vets sometimes put them too deep or they shift after insertion.

 

I've used a chip reader to scan about 2000 dogs (don't ask!), and I would say that about a third of those have chips that require the scanner to be waved over the dog reasonably significantly before it reads. Sometimes it can take many attempts to get the chips to read either because they've migrated or just 'because'. I personally have had about 20 dogs chipped of my own and I've had 3 that have been relatively difficult to read in that time. One was down his left leg, another has an American (but compatible) chip that can be awkward to read on occasion, and another has the chip in her elbow. I would be seriously impressed with a door that could read a chip consistently from a distance away. The scanners struggle sometimes when they are literally placed directly on the dog. Will be very interested to see how you get on with it when the mythical cat turns up. A collar with a dangling thing would probably be more consistent if the cat would keep it on.

 

That's a serious commitment spending that amount on 'forward planning' . I looked at a video on Youtube and looks like you can arrange for parcels to be put in it too. That could be handy for those drugs that @Nickfromwales wants to send you . 

[Ferdinand]

Far too complex.

 

Occam says the cat goes out in the evening as comes back in in the morning if it is good.

 

Since the cat here popped it’s close clogs I now have a spare cat flap in my shed if one is needed. You will be required to supply and install a blanking plate. I will not be accepting any parcels making meowing noises.

 

 

[Onoff]

8 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

I will not be accepting any parcels making meowing noises.

 

 

 

And if it's not making a noise? Until you open the box you won't know whether it's dead or alive...or even if there's a cat in there...