pet porte catflap

shelly

gypsygwendoline wrote: »

HELP! The local bruiser has been headbutting my Pet Porte cat flap and not only has he cracked the perspex but also managed to break the green locking mechanism so now the cat flap won't lock properly :mad:

My poor moggy is getting increasingly distraught as am I!

I have tried to contact Pet Porte but whenever I search for them on the web all I can find is Staywell, who I believe have since bought them out. I have emailed and telephoned Staywell but to no avail, all they could suggest was sticking a piece of mirrored plastic on the outside to scare the intruder off, with no mention of how to fix the problem or any offer of a replacement.


Does anyone have the original contact details for Pet Porte - if they are still trading?

Thanks so much for any help offered - we are desperate to get some peace!

If you go to the Staywell site there is a Petsafe tab. Clicking on it gives you a Customer care number of 0800 046 1414. This is the number you need for petporte products.

I was recently in touch with them about my broken petporte and they were very helpful.
Though they only offer a replacement under warranty if your flap is under 2 years old.

Hope that helps.

Jaunty

Jaunty wrote: »

Hi. I just got one, the Porte part that sticks out does not have a cover for the underside; it looks like it should have, but there is no mention of one in the assembly guide though.

First cat has not registered on scanning at all, number 2 not tested yet. This is on battery only, maybe I need mains to do the first scanning and will try that in the morning.

A belated update. First unit was faulty, so we had the hassle of taking one of the cats to the vet to check the chip had not fallen out/migrated, which it had not. PetPlanet swapped it out no problem. I managed to swap it out with our Catmate catflap ok and run some power to it reasonably safely. Have a battery back up but did not want to rely on this only, as with the battery the cats have to nudge the door to start the scanning process - and if on an escape run back to the house I did not want to delay their re-entry!

Working fine, we do not use any smart settings, the (2) cats come and go as they want, day or night. The draft proofing is not great, where the unit attaches to the walls/whatever it is fixed to. Have bought some filler to improve this. Next I think I will cut down the standard 4 second time the flap lock stays open for after use to help keep chasing moggies out.

clancy

Ive had my petporte for a few months now and after returning as red clip was broken inside i have had no other issues, i have noticed over last week or so that it is not unlocking in the mornings till around 9am and locking for the night from say 3pm onwards, i am hoping its to do with the weather and darker mornings and late afternoons, does anyone else have this issue or is mine playing up?? so wish we was able to put a time when we want it to open and close rather than in being on light sensor...

Jaunty

We bought our first Pet Porte (Mk II version) in May 2010. It was faulty, and would not read either of our cats chips. But you have to check your cats chips are still there to know this for sure, so have to go to the vets. So this was all unneccesary hassle. Pet Planet were fine with sorting a replacement, but again it is hassle you do not need, packing up the old one and arranging pick up etc.

The replacement has been installed since July 2010. We only use it on the default basic setting. It does not fit as well as our old one and is a bit drafty, I keep meaning to seal it with some mastic. I was concerned about the strength and location of the green lock that prevents entrance, having read of a few problems but it has been fine - until now. Unfortunately we recently returned home and there was some cat urine on our bedding, and we realised the green lock was permanently in the down position. So either an intruder did it, or scared one of ours so much they did it. Food has been going down a lot too.

khconnell in their review on Pet Planet said "Long story short; we persevered for a year but the cat flap has a couple of design flaws that meant, ultimately, the neighbour's cat was able to break into our house with impunity: 1. The green locking catch is over to one side of the flap - with sufficient pressure applied to the opposite side of the flap our neighbour's persistent moggy was able to force the flap over the catch and thus gain entry to our abode. 2. Once the locking mechanism has been forced, the small electric switch inside the device is left in the "open" position - meaning that the flap is unlocked and therefore any animal may come and go at will - until one of our own chipped moggies went through to trigger the lock back into place."

Ours was worse than that, as our cats going through would not reset it. Our unit is mains powered with a battery back up, and a manual reset did not help. I took the 4 screws out and front panel off and saw that the (incredibly flimsy, wire thin) return spring had come out of position. I've put it back in place but now the bad cat knows it can getin, one bash and it is through.

The green lock being to one side does not help, it should be in the centre. It also does not come up much, more lock in the way would help. There is also a gap between the door and lock, so intruder moggy can get up momentum to bash it a bit. The return spring needs to be beefed up, or at least have the design improved so it does not get pushed out of position. It is a shame really - all of the great effort in the chip reading system means nothing if the enemy cat can just bash the bloomin door in! I think we have no choice but to seek a refund.

Goocher1978

Does anyone know how to turn the beep of on the older model flap (not the smart flap) have been having problems with neighbouring cats getting in, have changed the time setting to be slightly longer since the problem seems to be that our cat comes through so slowly the flap doesn't fully close behind her and just rests on the green switch, just wanted to turn the beep off now so as not to advertise the fact that the flap is opening.

Thanks.

Judydoo

I installed the Mark II version last April in order to prevent a neighbourhood cat entering my house and spraying everywhere. The crunch came when one of my cats was beaten up inside my house, so I bought the Pet Porte. It has done the job it was designed for - until recently. The same neighbourhood cat has finally worked out that he can bash his way through the flap and now I'm having exactly the same problem with the green locking mechanism as Jaunty has described above. I've spoken with Pet Porte Customer Services - they've been very helpful and sent me a new lock which I fitted it yesterday, but the cat has still managed to bash his way through again. The cat flap has been great - but seems that it won't permanently stop persistent unwanted visitors entering your home.

Does anyone have an idea on what I should try next?

tux900

Judydoo wrote: »

Does anyone have an idea on what I should try next?

There's probably little you can do really, although the following might be worth a try:

- Make the flap opaque, e.g. covering it with or similar, as the bad cat might be quite cautious about entering and if it cannot see through to the other side it might be enough to put him off.

- Try and catch the bad cat in the act and give him the fright of its life and/or a spray with a water bottle if you're quick enough. Once bitten twice shy and all that.

Mathew

tux900

Goocher1978 wrote: »

Does anyone know how to turn the beep of on the older model flap (not the smart flap)

According to the manual you press the green button for 1 second.

Mathew

savemoney

:spam: post 220 reported

nads1981

I bought one the new versions of the Pet Porte a month ago because of a nasty tom cat intruder and have been running it on a battery. However my cat's been having trouble getting in and has been scraping the door to bits before it recognises his chip. I called the support line (0800 092 4880) and spoke to a very helpful lady who told me if you run it by battery alone its signal reader is weaker so it can be difficult to read the cat's chip. I'm switching to mains power which is a bit of a pain because of the wire but, if it means the cat can get in easily and isn't scratching away at it all night, is definitey worth it.

Bear this in mind before you fit yours so you're on the nearest side of the door to a plug socket!