Should I Use An Electronic Cat Door At Home? Electronic Cat Doors Vs Cat Flaps

We all know that cats hate a locked door. My cats will whine and scratch at the back door for ages, and then the second I open it for them, they lose all interest! But I still want them to be able to explore the outside without me having to keep the back door open all the time. I also want them to come and go as they please during the day, even if I’m not there to let them in and out. For this reason, I recently replaced my broken old cat flap with a shiny new electronic cat flap. 

Now that I’ve used one for a few weeks, my cats have gotten used to it (well, most of them have!) I thought I would use this opportunity to review my experience using it and the benefits and downsides compared to a regular cat flap. 

What is an Electronic Cat Door? 

Electronic cat flaps only open when they detect your cat is nearby. This is usually achieved by detecting your cat’s RFID chip (microchip) and then unlocking the cat flap for a short amount of time. 

If your cat does not have a microchip, you can use an RFID collar and achieve the same result. However, if possible, you should ALWAYS microchip your cat so that they can be identified if they get lost and are handed into a shelter or a vet. 

Some electronic cat flaps also have an accompanying mobile phone app which can be used to: 

• Lock/unlock the cat flap over WiFi while you are away from the house 
• Send you an alert each time the cat flap is used 
• Let you set a schedule to lock/unlock the flap at certain times (such as automatically locking it between 9 PM and 8 AM) 
   

The Benefits Of An Electric Cat Door 

After having used an electric cat door for several weeks, there are a few advantages that are readily apparent to me. 

Convenience 

I have 6 cats, and I work from home some of the time. If I had to get up from my desk every time one of them wanted to come in or out of the house, I’d never get any work done. Being able to have it open and close automatically means I can get on with my work. 

Security & Controlled Access 

I previously had a problem where the neighbour’s cat would come in through my old cat flap and start eating my cats’ food. Because the electronic cat flap only opens when it detects a microchip you’ve registered with it, it won’t open for other cats. This is great as it means I don’t have to worry about the neighbours’ cat getting into the house anymore. Similarly, they won’t be open to potential human intruders either. The electronic flap wouldn’t withstand an intruder who was determined to break in, but it would prevent someone from silently reaching through it and opening the door lock, which was a constant worry with my old traditional cat flap. 

Independence 

When I’m not at home, my cats can still come and go as they like. This is great, as when I’m not working from home, I don’t have to worry about rushing home to let the cats out and can rest assured that they still have the freedom to come and go as they please without me there. I also like getting notifications from the app when I’m out of the house, as it reminds me of my cats and lets me know they are moving about and getting exercise. 

The Disadvantages Of An Electronic Cat Door 

Nothing is perfect, and while I still prefer my electronic cat door to a regular old cat flap, there are a few snags I’ve found that are worth being aware of before you purchase one in case any of these factors might be a deal breaker for you. 

• Battery Life 
  Most electronic cat flaps are battery-powered. This battery life can be pretty variable depending on how much use the cat flap is getting on a daily basis. If you have one cat, it should last a while, but multiple cats that like coming and going can drain the battery quite quickly. I personally had a problem with one of my cats who liked to sit right next to the cat door. This meant that the flap was repeatedly detecting his microchip and locking/unlocking over and over again for hours at a time—this drained the battery very quickly. There are some mains-powered options available, but they tend to be more expensive and are not always suitable for all homes depending on where you want to place the cat door. 
• Initial Cost 
  While standard cat flaps can be as cheap as £5, electronic cat flaps can be much more expensive. Good-quality electronic cat flaps can be near the £200 mark. This is a lot to spend on something you can’t test before you buy it. 
• Learning Curve 
  Not every cat gets the hang of the electronic door straight away. There is often a slight delay between the cat flap detecting your cat’s microchip and then unlocking. If your cat doesn’t get used to this, it may think the door is constantly locked. Like most things involving cats, getting your feline friend used to using his new door might take some patience and some coaxing with treats. One of my cats absolutely refuses to use the new electronic flap, even though she was happy to use the old non-electronic one. While my other three cats will use it, she will come and meow at me to let her out and will only go outside if I come and open the actual back door for her. 

Not Knowing Whether Your Cat Is Inside Or Outside

Because the electronic doors open and lock automatically based on the proximity of your cat’s microchip, you might not know whether your cat is inside or outside without first checking the rest of your house to see if they are already inside. While some models will send you a notification that the flap has unlocked, this doesn’t tell you whether your cat actually went through or whether they just happened to walk near the door without using it.

Other Types of Cat Doors 

The cat flap I have is mounted in the back door of my house, connected to my kitchen. This works well for my house, but there are other options available that might be better suited to your home. 

• Cat Doors for Windows 
  Some cat doors are designed to be mounted in a window. Sometimes replacing an entire pane of glass. 
• Gate with a pet door 
  Pet doors are sometimes mounted into exterior gates to allow cats to come and go and explore a larger area while still maintaining the privacy of having a gate. If you are using an electronic cat door on an exterior gate, you need to make sure you buy one that is waterproof. If you use one that is only designed for indoors, water may leak into the mechanism and fry the circuits, rendering it useless. 

Final Thoughts: Should You Buy An Electronic Cat Flap?

So, as you can see, there are some definite advantages to using an electronic cat door, but they might not be suitable for every household or every cat. I can say that from my personal experience, it’s been a worthwhile investment. But remember, like everything you buy for a cat, whether it’s a toy, a cat gym, or an electronic cat flap, if your cat decides it’s not interested in using it, there’s not much you can do to change their mind.