****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I have a window that directly connects to the catio in my yard. Normally I’d keep it open so my cats can come and go from the catio as they please, but with these hotter days and bugs galore, it’s not ideal to have the window open most of the time.A few weeks ago, I randomly did a search for “cat window door” and came across multiple products like this one.The criteria I had for deciding which to purpose were:- Must fit a small window- Must have a flexible flap- Must be self-insulating (door)- Must have a door cover lockIt came down to this product and another more expensive one. I decided to get this one mostly because it was aesthetically pleasing.The installation was a bit annoying because I my window is just 1/2” bigger than the smallest size for this product. The door cover was also initially difficult to remove, even with following instructions.Apart from those main issues, this works perfectly fine and is made from pretty good materials. Though, I wish it came with some sort of insulation to put between where the top of this product meets the window because there was still an itty bitty crack. Luckily I had extra tape insulation on hand.One thing to note is that you WILL need window locks to prevent someone from opening the window. I used lion locks since they’re strong and minimalistic.It took a couple days, but she now goes in and out on her own which was pretty much the point of buying this.super impressed with not only the heavy duty of this but the customer service that I received. we are doing construction and wanted this sooner than what Amazon was saying. I contacted the sell, they looked at inventory and told me minus from CA to NH, that there should be no delay... THANK YOU!They received a 4star in installation only bc no instructions in the packaging...its here in the description that I found after. HIGHLY RECOMMENDCame with the door not centered in opening showing small crack each side as door was slightly twisted in the opening. Poor final QC check. About 10 minutes with a phillips head screwdriver had the door square in the opening with no gaps. Easy peasy but should have come that way.My next issue was my window was between the available factory widths. An email to seller solved the problem if I was willing to cut down using the next larger size. I took off the two end pieces and ran them through my table saw and problem was solved.Simple install in window, I spent $3 at Home Depot for weatherstripping along the bottom of window and top of door structure.One of our Bengal cats went right through but the other was not happy with door. As others have reported here I taped the flap up out of the way for a day then told my cat it was up to her if she wanted out to the Catio. Great door, I didn't mind the couple of issues as this door is perfect for my cats. OH, and my scaredy cat got over it and uses the door no problem.EDIT: some complaints about door cover being too hard to operate, here’s how to operate cover: hold one side tight by pushing it towards the opening and then push on the center of the curved cover and pull the other side off. May take a couple tries to learn but makes the cover easy to remove.This product is very well made, easy to install, and really does the trick. My cats are very happy with it.I bought this as the entrance for a cattio. Cats are still learning, but it survived a Florida storm!There is no weather-stripping, so it lets in lots of cold air. My cats liked it, but I could NOT use the closer attachment, so I had to send it back. A lot of money for that flaw in design.I took 5 minutes to stick this into the window, and didn't bother trying to use the weather stripping I bought to seal it. We live in a very safe neighborhood, so not concerned about security, and very little air seeps in around the edges. It gets mildly cold here in winter (20's at night-40's day) and I didn't feel cold air coming near this cat door. The cats love it. Inside, I put a little table against the low window with a rubberized mat on it, and also cut a strip of the rubberized mat to protect the finished wood windowsill. I used Command stickers to hold them in place. Outside the window on the porch, I put a small outdoor end table with a little bathroom rug on it, so the kitties would have a platform with grip and comfort on the glass table. A great solution as an alternative to cutting holes in your doors!
