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Cat Flaps and Dog Flaps - DIY Tip 46

It doesn't have to be a "dog's life" even for a cat. 

This blog is dedicated to the pet lovers amongst us of which I am one.

My girls are shown below, Millie & Teags are my own dogs, Millie is the 11 year old golden retriever and not the brains of the family, Teags (now departed) was the 13 year old cross collie and Fox impersonator, she was very much the boss, Teags was rescued by us almost 13 years ago from the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home which is always looking for donations to help them continue their great work, please feel free to click on the image of "my girls" and go to the link for the home.

We are constantly asked why a cat flap cannot be fitted to a particular door, the main reason  is usually to do with the size of the door which directly impacts on the size of the panels in certain types of doors, the doors that have panels which are Raised and Fielded for example have to be a size that suits your particular size of Cat or Dog Flap, the mention of Raised and Fielded panels relates to the shaping around the edges of the panels within a door, it simply means the paels have been in layman's terms, "chamfered, Bevelled or angled" to give the panels a "shape".

I suppose the short answer as to whether a cat flap will fit is to check the overall dimensions of the intended cat flap frame against the dimensions of the panel within the fielded area, in other words the flat part of the door panel relative to the overall cat flap frame/surround, see the close up image.

All doors which are of the "flush", "solid core",  "panel"  or "single glazed",  "double glazed"  or the "Tri glazed" types have doors within those sections that are virtually always suitable for cat or dog flaps.    

 

 

The fitting of the cat or dog flap is pretty straight forward after you have checked the doors general suitability, take the template and offer it up to the door, where the door has panels as mentioned above just make sure that you remember the template for the cut out should be kept up from the bottom rail so that after cutting out the "hole" you will have enough room for the flaps frame (the surround) which will then be fitted, don't worry about the cat flap being fitted too high on the door, just keep it as near to the bottom of the door but above the rail which forms the lowest part of the door.

 

Most cat flaps are supplied with a seal or gasket so that the flap frame is sealed to the door, it should also be very obvious to you that the flap has an external and internal face, flaps are also available with electronic tags which allow only your cat to gain entry to you home.

All our customers are asked to check whether their cat flap is suitable for the door they intend to purchase, we can normally advise regarding the cutting out/installation of the flap prior to delivery, we can also advise about fitting flaps to a Pvc door and also to a sealed double glazed unit if you are buying a door with lower glass panes.

 

We have traditionally used the "Staywell" make of cat flap, this company has such as large range that you should have no difficulty getting the type, colour and operational style to suit you.

 

Any questions, email info@directdoors.com

Info supplied by www.directdoors.com