Cat Flap. Good OR Bad?

Me Again

As you guys probaly read in my other post i dont want to chuck Misse outside but i also dont want the odors of the litter and food bowl as i previously have both inside at the moment and no matter how much i clean it [which is everyday] Misse always seems to make a mess wether its flicking the litter everywhere and draging his food on the floor to eat . So i was thinking if i put a cat flap in the door he can have the option on weather he wants to go in or out. Although i dont know anything about them such as is installing them hard? do cats take a while to get used to them etc. Anyone that has a cat flap, as silly as this may sound can someone please let me know the advantages and disadvantages .

Thanks heaps guys. Sorry if i sound silly.

I have always used cat flaps ( I think I brought the first one ever to Bosnia!) and my cats have always got used to them quickly. I use the four-way magnetic kind so that only my cats can get in to the house and so I can lock them in at night. They are very easy to install if your door has a wood or glass panel (get the right sort for glass or wood) into which a hole can be cut. The box comes with a template for making it the right size and shape.

The disadvantage is that your cats have to wear collars with magnets, and some people don't like that. If you have safety collars ( I do) then the cats can lose them, so I always keep a few spare magnets (buy them where you get the cat doors).

I always have litter boxes in the house as well and I feed my cats indoors, but I have never had trouble with odours. If you feed the right amount then you wash the bowls after each feed and there is nothing to smell. Dry food doesn't smell and I leave that down all day. The cats use the outdoors to do their business but also need facilities at night or if it is raining and I clean every day as everyone should, but at least there is less if they are going outside.

I do think it is usually wise to keep the catflap locked at night, as the majority of accidents happen after dark, whether caused by traffic or by nocturnal predators like coyotes or feral dogs. My cats don't even try to go out after dinner. Good luck.

I do think it is usually wise to keep the catflap locked at night, as the majority of accidents happen after dark, whether caused by traffic or by nocturnal predators like coyotes or feral dogs. My cats don't even try to go out after dinner. Good luck.

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Also my brother who lives out in the middle of nowhere and uses one for his cat Smut has had problems with the occasional raccoon deciding to use it to come in and eat the cat's food! Lockable is definitely good. I've been trying to convince him he needs one of the magnetic ones.

Thanks heaps guys

Whats the magnets for

The magnets are the door 'keys' that open the flap. It means only your cats can operate the flap - the magnetic catch on the door lets down as the cat's head (and so the collar magnet) approaches the flap. That way, strange cats or other animals can't take advantage of your 'open door'. You can set the door so that the cats can get in or out, in only or out only, or can't operate the door at all. It is worth getting a flap with this 'four-way' feature - it really is very useful.