pet porte catflap

tux900

For what it's worth I'd go with the Pet Porte. It really is a quality product and works so well. Whilst I haven't tried a PetMate I've tried enough of the others to recognise a reliable flap when I see one!

From a general perspective, the collar-based fob ones can be a right pain with regards to lost collars, sensor alignment etc. At least with an embedded chip you can rely on it being present at all times and always in the right/same place!

Mathew

morg_monster

Hi,
So we have got a petporte at last! However got one off eBay for £50 which was a great bargain and I felt worth the lack of a guarantee.
Anway I've been getting it set up tonight and have found that while one cat scanned immediately, the other isn't being recognised at all. They were both chipped 6 weeks ago with the same type of chip at Battersea, and I saw them both be scanned successfully by the vet at their "check out" appt.
Was hoping I'd be able to get around it and just use it in "open mode", ignoring the microchips, as the main reason we got it was for the automatic locking at night. However I think that you can't have open mode and night mode activated at the same time. So doesn't look like that will work.
So I guess I'm going to need a trip to the vets, grr, but anyone experience this before? Not likely to get to the vets before the weekend so the cats will have to be locked in while we're away Saturday and sunday. So anything I can try myself will prevent the furry cold shoulders when we get home!!
Thanks in advance (I hope!)

Jonesy_McJones

morg_monster wrote: »

Hi,
So we have got a petporte at last! However got one off eBay for £50 which was a great bargain and I felt worth the lack of a guarantee.
Anway I've been getting it set up tonight and have found that while one cat scanned immediately, the other isn't being recognised at all. They were both chipped 6 weeks ago with the same type of chip at Battersea, and I saw them both be scanned successfully by the vet at their "check out" appt.
Was hoping I'd be able to get around it and just use it in "open mode", ignoring the microchips, as the main reason we got it was for the automatic locking at night. However I think that you can't have open mode and night mode activated at the same time. So doesn't look like that will work.
So I guess I'm going to need a trip to the vets, grr, but anyone experience this before? Not likely to get to the vets before the weekend so the cats will have to be locked in while we're away Saturday and sunday. So anything I can try myself will prevent the furry cold shoulders when we get home!!
Thanks in advance (I hope!)

Both cats scanned ok to register, but the flap didn't recognise one of them once it was installed. Ended up getting her chipped again which sorted the problem - even though the chip was only put in about 6 months beforehand. Now she's 'Maccy Two Chips' - got quite a m@fia ring to it!

morg_monster

Hm thats a good point! Should check the other cat scans ok once its installed so I don't have to have 2 separate trips to the vet...
I realised that I can use it OK this weekend, on open mode all the time but with a timer to switch the power off to it overnight so it then goes into "in only" mode before switching back on to open mode in the morning. Think that'll keep the kitties happy.

morg_monster

Just wanted to add; none of my plans are working! After power is cut to the unit and reconnected it reverts to "normal" mode so my poor kitty would get stuck outside. The only way it would work would be if I could find a battery of the right size that is almost out of juice!
They will have to be shut in this weekend, poor things.

morg_monster

Sorry for repeatedly bumping this thread!
We went to the vets today and found Mia's chip has migrated to her left shoulder and is heading down her leg! So I have been able to program her in but don't think it'll read the chip from a normal entry position. The nurse said she can be rechipped but there is a possibility that it'll just migrate again.
Before I get her rechipped, does anyone know how to increase the sensitivity of the microchip reader? I have read a few posts which imply that this can be done and think it might help our situation!

Jonesy_McJones

morg_monster wrote: »

Sorry for repeatedly bumping this thread!
We went to the vets today and found Mia's chip has migrated to her left shoulder and is heading down her leg! So I have been able to program her in but don't think it'll read the chip from a normal entry position. The nurse said she can be rechipped but there is a possibility that it'll just migrate again.
Before I get her rechipped, does anyone know how to increase the sensitivity of the microchip reader? I have read a few posts which imply that this can be done and think it might help our situation!

The only thing I can think of is to maybe put some sort of a step underneath the porch of the flap, then she'll be closer to the reader, iyswim. Mac is the shorter of the two cats, so the combination of the migrating chip and her little legs might have been too blame. Otherwise try calling Pet Porte direct, they are very very very helpful.

loulou1971_3

Also which chip are you using? Petporte customer service did mention to me that the Bayer Tracer chip definitely has the best scanning range. My vet ordered in a Bayer Tracer chip for our cat as he normally uses a different type.

Also I spoke to Bayer Tracer when I was trying to ascertain why our cat wasn't scanning (turned out to be the coil) and talked about migration. The lady there said the Bayer Chips certainly shouldn't migrate easily as they have a special extra sticky coating on them to adhere and stay in the same place. Not sure if that's the case for all chips.

Our cat certainly has some active scraps at times and I've often worried that with all the stretching and scraping the chip will then have moved but touch wood it's always stayed intact!

We have a little ramp leading up to the petporte flap as there's a step up to the back door. It's just a piece of wood (like a B&Q wall shelf) that attaches onto hooks screwed into the back door. It means Rocky is also right underneath the scanning coil when coming in!

morg_monster

Thanks. I don't know what type of chip it is; it was done by battersea before we got them. I've got a number and barcode but it doesn't say what make it is.

I have read online that one of the screws in the circuit board can be screwed 90 degrees to "tune" the scanner. SO its not really increasing the sensitivity... but I don't know which screw! i'm just a bit wary of calling petporte due us having a second hand one! But the worst they can say is a polite no, so i will give them a call on monday.

What i really need to do is install it and see if it works in situ. However I have to drill slightly bigger holes for the screws than I have for the current staywell flap and I'm worried if I have to reinstall the staywell it'll then wobble about! Guess I can swap the screws between the two flaps though, that should work.
Might go to dragons den with my idea for a catflap with a timer! nothing else fancy, just a timer to control the in and out locks. Can't be that hard, can it!

loulou1971_3

I'd definitely give Petporte a call - I bought mine from a non-petporte website and they didn't mind giving advice at all, they're very helpful. They also sent me various new parts (scanner, board, power supply) free of charge when my scanner started being inconsistent. They asked me how long I'd had it and I said a year (18 month warranty I think) but they never then asked for any sort of proof!

If you were able to check with Battersea which chips they use it may help - there are certain temperature reading chips which don't scan very well at all with the Petporte - and if you do go down the re-chipping route it's definitely worth trying to get a Bayer Tracer chip. My vet ordered one in within 48 hours for me at no extra charge.

I heard about the screw turning tuning thing too but can't remember the details. Petporte will know about that no doubt and advise.

Good luck!