Advice needed re cat, cat flap or out all day?

SueTheBlue

Hi, wonder if anyone could offer me some advice.

I have a 6 year old cat who goes outdoors for long periods of the day, don't have a cat flap at the moment, the only place to locate one would be the upvc back door, and as we only had it fitted about 3 years ago I don't really want to have a hole cut in it.

I'm currently unemployed, but am actively seeking a job, and am a bit concerned about what would happen if I do get a job and the cat was left out all day. She is so used to her personal slave (me;) letting her in and out all day, I'm worried that if I wasn't here she would up sticks and disappear. She's a very sensitive sort of cat, and I'm worried that if I wasn't around through the day she would go astray.

Just wondered what other people think, maybe I should go with the cat flap and get her used to that before I get a job, or just leave her outside or inside all day, although I know she wouldn't be too happy about being inside all day

Sue

h007

personally i would install the cat flap so she has access to food and comfort in the day.
also what would happen in bad weather or if she gets scared by something if she had no way to get inside her home?

martinthebandit

h007 wrote: »

personally i would install the cat flap so she has access to food and comfort in the day.
also what would happen in bad weather or if she gets scared by something if she had no way to get inside her home?

seems the right answer to me, and they are not that difficult to DIY in a UPVC door

Mankysteve

Is the door made of separate panels? Quite often you can replace the lower panel if you ever wish to.

Tiddlywinks

She is a sensitive cat and is used to coming and going so it wouldn't really be fair to keep her locked in or shut out all day would it?

It is not that difficult to remove a panel from a UPVC door and replace it with a piece of wood to make fitting the flap easier and then save the panel and put it back if you move.

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi, I have a similar situation but one of my cats can't be left to her own devices (love her to bits but she's the stupidist cat ever - in 1/2 an hour she can get stuck in/up the most ridiculous places. She has a damaged knee and I need to try to stop her jumping from heights, esp onto hard surfaces, so spend a lot of time rescuing her).

My other cat usually (not so much at the minute as he had a bit of a fright and won't go out for more than a few mins at the moment) stays out all day.

I've got an old dog kennel (waterproof) and have 1/2 sealed up the door so he can just get in. There's an old carpet on the floor and a nice warm duvet in it. I frequently find him in there so seems to work well for him.

If you can though, I'd certainly go with the cat flap.

ailuro2

We have a cat flap, wouldn't be without it - she needs to be able to get in the house if it's snowing/ lunchtime / raining / she wants to sit on the window and look out.

Our cat flap is operated by a magnet on her collar, as another cat was using the traditional cat flap to come in and help himself to dinner.:eek: It didn't cost much more than a traditional cat flap, definitely worth it.

nitaloztom

I've got 5 cats and i wouldn't be without mine, actually i've got a dog flap not a cat one.
My cats like to come and go as they please and they are in and out all the time.
This weather they are out quite a bit but its nice to know that they can come in for cover when the neighbourhood bully cat is about

bluebeary

we fitted a cat flap to a upvc back door, pretty straight forward, so the cat could come and go during the day for food or to use his litter tray or just come in and go to sleep

if its raining, cat might want to come inside

incidently we only spent a year at the property and the cat flap wasnt an issue at all for our buyer

fran2491

i lived for years without a cat flap now however i would never be without one ;-) i have moved house 3 times so far and changed panel twice i just bought the reaplacement of ebay rang this company
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UPVC-FLAT-PANELS-VARIOUS-SIZES-FREE-DELIVERY-24mm28mm-/120667248350?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Doors_LE&var=&hash=item61cb1ae032

just bought foam filled ones really is easy to pop out the old panel and cut to size with a jigsaw, the new one this time round i replaced a glass door in the conservatroy as the back door was steel! one thing i will say is get a microchip flap or infra red one or you could well have unwanted visitors

gettingready

Definitely not fair on a cat to be stuck outside for wahole day for the sake of not wanting to "damage" the doors, sorry.

If she chooses to stay out that is fine but forcing her to stay out by not giving her access to the house is just not right.

It is not difficult to install a cat flap in PVC so should nto be a problem.