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Doggie doors + Cats?

Mantha Meow

Savannah Super Cat
I will soon be moving in with my boyfriend and his schnauzer, Bandit. My kitties both get along fine with dogs and he gets along with cats so I am not worried about that at all. Shane (boyfriend) and I both really want Bandit to have a doggie door. He had one in his old house, but after it got hit by the tornado Shane and Bandit moved back in with his parents. We can both tell he misses the freedom of a doggie door.

Does anyone have experience or recommendation on a doggie door that is dog AND cat friendly? I've seen ones that you can put sensors on the collars so it would open for the dog collar and shut if the cats were near. I am about to start my internet browsing and figured I could get some advice here!!

Thanks for any and all help!!:)
 

Patti

Admin
Staff member
Cats can use any doggie door that you install, as long as it is big enough for them to fit through. Does this mean that you are going to let them go outside on their own, or will you be building an outdoor enclosure for them on the other side of the doggie door?
 

Treywi

April
We used to have a doggie door panel that fit in our sliding glass doors tracks. LOVED having it since we didn't have to constantly let the dogs in and out. We worried about the cats using it and kept a close watch. A year after getting our two Bengals, our male Bengal figured it out and got out. We pulled the panel out and haven't used it since. We'd thought about purchasing the ones with the collar sensor but wondered like you if one of the cats would figure out a way to sneak out while the dog was going in or out. Sorry not much help in which ones to get, but I'll be watching to see if anyone else has had success with those sensor type ones. :)
 

SV Dad

Savannah Super Cat
My son had one of those sensor doors, and as many would predict, not at all Savannah proof. They are way too smart and will get out when they want to.
 

Mantha Meow

Savannah Super Cat
I'm sorry guys I wasn't very clear on my question! I want the dog to be able to come and go but not the kitties! (neither are SV but we plan on getting one in the next year which is why I am here!) Since where his house is was pretty much ground zero for the tornado the whole neighborhood is being rebuilt. It would be disastrous for a kitty to get out into that mess!
 

SV Dad

Savannah Super Cat
Martha, My son's cat learned how to chase the other cat thru the door and go thru as one cat. And he learned how to brute force his way thru. Savannahs should not be underestimated for their persistence.
 

Mantha Meow

Savannah Super Cat
That's what I am worried about Rascal Dad! Kins (brown tabby) would most definitely try to get out along with Bandit.. Char is pretty terrified of outside so I don't need to worry about her. I did see something online somewhere where the owners had put a "cat fence" up so if they did get out they couldn't leave the yard? I didn't look into it but I bet it was a shock fence or something and I couldn't do that!!
 

SV Dad

Savannah Super Cat
Hey folks, who was the member in Netherlands who had a huge fence covered run behind his house? Was it Niels?
Mantha, there are some threads about enclosed cat runs.
Cbain, don't you have something like an enclosed run?
 

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
Our doggie door (well pet door as we had it custom made so our F1 could easily go through as well as our beagle) leads into our enclosure. That way our dog can go in and out but so can the cats SAFELY.

There is non-shock cat fencing you can look into...http://www.purrfectfence.com/ for example.

But I can guarantee most Savannahs would work out any type of system where the dog could go out and they couldn't... they are very determined and very smart and very fast!
 
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