Cat Mate 2-Way-Locking Cat Flap (304) - Secure Lockable Door for Small to Medium Sized Cats, Easy to Install and Use, for Screen, UPVC and Wood, White

Smart engineering and quality manufacture made this cat door a pleasure to install and use. I put it in the lower panel (1/8" aluminum) of my storm door. It seals against drafts pretty well, and I can't see any obvious points of wear or stress that would lead to future problems. Following the simple directions led to a good outcome. The only minor niggle was sticky movement of the sliding latch, but a couple of minutes with a scalpel, excising some untrimmed molding flash, got it moving smoothly. Some installation tips: 1. When placing the template on your door, use a bubble level across the top of the template. 2. Use a jig saw with the appropriate blade (fine-toothed metal-cutting blade in my case). 3. Cut/file the opening so that the door frame slips in with zero force, so as not to distort the frame and bind the door. 4. When marking the screw hole locations, use a bubble level (again) across the top of the inner frame. 5. Drill the screw holes in the door a little smaller than suggested, 9/64" rather than 3/16"; this snugger fit will ensure that the door remains plumb as you install the screws, assuming that you levelled it as above. 6. Vacuum meticulously afterward: the last thing you want in your feet (or your cat's paws) is sharp metal swarf. Being used to the unmodified screen door for 2+ years, my cat was wary (spooked, actually). After I taped the flap fully open, she gingerly approached and peeked outside. After 15 minutes of lurking, she took her first tentative steps through the door. After going in and out through the propped door many times over the next hour, she still would not nudge the fully closed flap, but when I lifted it halfway, she pushed her head under it and the body followed. Not bad for a couple of hours' work!

I needed a little cat door to put into a window. This worked great! I cut a hole in plywood, installed the door, and happy kitties now have access to their cat castle year round. And my family room should be a bit warmer this winter! I misjudged the thickness of my plywood (3/4 inch), so I had to put in longer screws. If you have thinner wood (1/2 inch), it should be just fine. As far as quality, the door seems sturdy and well made. It has been installed for about a month and the cats figured it out right away. It swings easily, closes about as tight as it could. It has a fuzzy edging to cut the breeze. You can lock with a tab if you want. It is just plastic. It does seem to be a little hard to use, but since I do not use it, I have not bothered with it too much. I highly recommend this door.

I install lots of things myself at home so would not consider myself a novice. This took more sweat than any furniture. First, screws are dinky and you can barely use any torque before screwdriver slips. The holes made for them were too tight and had to be drilled. Further, both plastic pieces were too thin and didn't give much material for screws to hold on to so glue had to be added. Plastic pieces that meant to cover the screws were too big and were popping out instantly. More glue plus vices to hold them in place. Save yourself all the trouble and purchase something else.

We have 2 indoor cats at home who are smart enough to knock on the doors and let you know they want in or out. At first your reaction to this is "oh look at the cute, smart, well behaved cat who follows good door knocking protocol". After a while you realize that instead of you training the cat, its the cat that has been training you.... to be their BUTLER! 20 times a day they knock on doors to get in or out, and by then you are already asking for mercy. That's when this pet door came in. Ordered it and was delivered pretty much in the expected amount of time (we live in Puerto Rico so Prime takes more time to deliver over here). The door comes in a simple cardboard box with good instructions, 4 screws, 4 plastic spacemakers (if your door is too thick or if you need to make space between the 2 sides). It also comes with a cardboard guide so you can use it to make the opening on your door. We did not use the space makers since the door we used it on is an aluminum screen door. We just marked the opening with a marker using the guide, and proceeded to use a jigsaw. PRO TIP 1: use a drill first to make a guide hole before using the jigsaw. Choose the correct saw blade depending on the material. Remember saw blades are measured by teeth count. PRO TIP 2: remember to measure twice and cut once. The instructions tell you to place the door at a height where the bottom of the door is almost touching your pet's belly. We made a mistake and mounted it a bit too low, and our cats have to bend down a little to get through. They are cats so they don't really mind the bending. Perhaps a small dog will not want to bend. PRO TIP 3: Also mark and drill the holes for the screws AFTER you make the opening. if you mess it up, there's always a bit of wiggle room with this door. PRO TIP 4: Choose the right product for the thickness of your door. Some of these doors are made for thicker or thinner doors. This one worked well for an aluminum door that is just made from a 1/8 thick panel. Mounting was fairly easy once the opening was made. We drilled 1/8 inch holes for the screws and used a cordless driver (in the lowest torque setting) to make it easy on us (since you will probably be sitting down or kneeling for this). Once the mounting was done, we had to re-train our cats to use the door. This takes a bit of persuading, because the cats wanted to keep using us as their own personal butlers. We had a long talk with them and explained that they had to open their own doors now. We had to force them (gently of course) in and out of the door a couple of times until they understood what it was for. They will paw at it for a while but will not like the magnet at first. Just motivate them with treats and after a couple of days they will be fine. Our cats started consistently using it after the first day. PROS: - Magnet works amazingly well. It shuts the door tightly so critters and other vermin cant get in. - Looks good and will cover any mistakes you make when perforating the opening once you mount it. - Easy to mount with the 4 screws provided (DONT OVERTIGHTEN) - Cats get used to it pretty quickly. - No more cat butlers in our home. - Sturdy enough. Door is made of hard plastic. - Not very costly compared to similar products. CONS: - The door does has a lock, but it is a full lock. Meaning you can't lock it for going out or in , independently. Other products do this. Sometimes you will want to let your pet come back in, and not go back out (at night for example). You wont be able to do this with this product. - Somehow... my cats learned to open the door even when its locked. So the lock doesn't work that well. It's not a deal-breaker for us.

Love this flap, and so do my 2 cats who are 1 and 2 years old. It was easy to install and it took my cats about a day to get used to it. The magnetic automatic shut was a little bit scary at first, but now they use it several times a day and do it with such ease and familiarity, it is great to see them come and go (they actually do not go out of the house, only to a terrace where they can be outdoors). I recommend this flap 100%. The price is right and it works fine, fine, fine! I am getting a 2nd one because I know eventually this one (it has about 1 year and 1 months of constant use already and it is still working fine) will give in. BTW, my 2 cats are a bit chubby and kinda big, and they fit fine through it....unfortunately I do not now their weight, but they are medium to large cats.

This cat door is great! It stays shut in the wind thanks to the strong magnetic closure, but is still no problem for the cat. Easy to install. Couldn't find a better one for this price!!

Ahora mis gatos pueden salir a su Catio con comodidad y a la hora que quieran. Antes solo cuando la puerta estuviera abierta podían salir.

Got the item super fast easy to install. If you have installed cat doors before , this is a lot easier than the oval shaped doors to install. Weather stripping helps to keep drafts out

Tal como se esperaba. Buen acabado y fácil instalación. Cumple totalmente. Solo tuve que quitar la rejilla de ventilación que había y colocar la puerta de acceso.

We ordered two of these, and haven't discovered any negatives about them.