pet porte catflap

sued0202

We've had our PetPorte door installed for about a year now and it has been great! Whenever I've had any questions I couldn't resolve from the booklet or Faqs on the website the staff have always been quick to offer advice.

Recently though, we've noticed that it seems to be forgetting it's supposed to be in Normal mode and the green latch is down when we go to look! (Plus on occasion we've seen Max from next door tucking into our cats' food, or more often, heard his bell as he's dashed for the cat-flap!)

I was hoping that PetPorte would stop the neighbours' cats. Has this happened to others?

Is the door failing, thus letting in the neighbour's cat? OR Is the action of the neighbour's cat forcing his way in (somehow!) dislodging the latch mechanism?

Anyone had any issues with other cats getting in while you've had a PetPorte door working?

Thanks for any and all replies.

Sue

morg_monster

Have you unscrewed the plate (the one inside the door) to have a look at the latch? on mine, the thingy that pushes up the latch sometimes comes "out" of position which means the latch just falls down and although you can hear it clicking when the cats come in, the latch is down all the time as it isn't connected up properly. It is a mechanical rather than an electrical thing; you can see the innards working properly.

Not that I have a solution! (I would ring petporte). But if it is mechanical only it is probably easier to fix. If it is an electrical problem then it is probably slightly harder to fix but still I would think the company would sort it for you, they have a very good reputation. We haven't contacted them about it due to buying ours second hand and also a million annoying problems, some of which are higher up this page. Oddly this problem with the latch actually solves a bigger problem we were having so we aren't aiming to fix it at the moment! (We use it for the night mode rather than the selective entry stuff).

lids_2001

I am looking at getting one of these, but i need to be sure that unwanted cats cannot pull it open from the outside. This is our current problem, and other than locking the cat flap we can't stop him. We might have to get rid of the cat as the guest sprays all over our house.

rigsby1967

After reading this thread i have decided to get a pet porte but i wouldn't be able to fit it myself:(.

It would be going through brickwork but who would i call in to do it?, would i get a builder, or a jointer, carpenter? I have no idea:o.

Thanks
rigs

tux900

Builder or handyman. It might be worth getting two or three round and seeing who you're most comfortable with to do the job.

Mathew

MrsE_2

rigsby1967 wrote: »

After reading this thread i have decided to get a pet porte but i wouldn't be able to fit it myself:(.

It would be going through brickwork but who would i call in to do it?, would i get a builder, or a jointer, carpenter? I have no idea:o.

Thanks
rigs

We went through brickwork.

Still unsealed, not sure how I want it sealed/finished.

Deceided to get marine MDF & make a box tunnel with that, need to get some marine MDF now.

Its very difficult to do it through brickwork, because the screw holes are so near the edge, you have to take so much out for it to open & then you have nothing to get a drill & raw plug into, its too near the edge.

We will use thick marine MDF to make the tunnel & screw the unit into the sides of the MDF.

rigsby1967

Thank you for the replies .

I have double glazed patio doors at the back but have heard that you need a whole new payne of double glazing to be fitted with the cat flap fitted BEFORE the glass is put in, is that right does anyone know please?

Thank you
rigs

morg_monster

Yes that's correct the hole needs to be put in at manufacture otherwise the vacuum between the panes won't be intact.

Jonesy_McJones

sued0202 wrote: »

We've had our PetPorte door installed for about a year now and it has been great! Whenever I've had any questions I couldn't resolve from the booklet or Faqs on the website the staff have always been quick to offer advice.

Recently though, we've noticed that it seems to be forgetting it's supposed to be in Normal mode and the green latch is down when we go to look! (Plus on occasion we've seen Max from next door tucking into our cats' food, or more often, heard his bell as he's dashed for the cat-flap!)

I was hoping that PetPorte would stop the neighbours' cats. Has this happened to others?

Is the door failing, thus letting in the neighbour's cat? OR Is the action of the neighbour's cat forcing his way in (somehow!) dislodging the latch mechanism?

Anyone had any issues with other cats getting in while you've had a PetPorte door working?

Thanks for any and all replies.

Sue

Had a similar problem... Called Pet Porte and they said it may be that we needed a new catflap (they would replace free of charge by the sounds of it) but she said she would email me with a photograph of what the problem might be, and to try that first. Got the email, checked it out, problem solved! (It was the spring / fuse wire.)

Here's what she wrote:

Further to our telephone conversation of today.

A photograph of a working Smart Flap green lock is attached. Please compare this to yours and try and see if you can rectify the problem with yours? Looking at your cat flap from the inside please remove the four cap covers / Screws in each corner. The area you need to look at is in the bottom left hand corner (Green Lock).
You may want to pay special attention to the "spring" (a very fine piece of fuse wire" this should be situated on the bottom of the green toggle, above 2 small teeth at the bottom of the green toggle. This will enable the green lock to pop back up. The Spring is held into place by screw with a green washer on the right hand side of the main green lock.

Otherwise it could be that the ball joint has come out of the top of the green toggle.

The green toggle is the beak shaped green aperture that moves to allow the cat to enter once the cat has been scanned and allowed to enter

If however, you are unable to rectify your lock, please send us a photograph of it and we will try and resolve the problem for you.

ladylouise62

When my cat started overcleaning I discussed cat flaps in the context of nervousness with the vet (turns out it was flea allergy). She said that cat behaviourists didn't like them as they add to the nervousness - you may know that other cats can't get in but your can't won't. This has a few points that may be worth taking into account http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/pet%20problems/cats/stressed.html