[caption id="attachment_4385" align="alignleft" width="306"] Pet Door image © Andrew Dunn and shared under CC license[/caption]
At Doorsan we sell a wide range of high quality wooden doors. The idea of cutting a hole in a brand new door seems crazy to us, however customers that have cats occasionally ask us about this when buying a new door.
Despite not owning a cat myself, I am very aware of the responsibilities that come with them. I sometimes look after the cats next door when the owners go on holiday and I have to clean up the mess that they leave in our flower beds on a regular basis. I also have to sort out the 'presents' that they leave in the house when looking after them. I have friends who get woken at all hours of the night to attend to their cats letting them in and out or giving them some attention.
Apparently a cat flap is a much needed accessory for most cat owners to allow their cats to roam in and out as they wish. So, how do you go about fitting a cat flap to ensure your cat has the flexibility it needs and to minimise damage to your door? I have been reliably informed that cat flap packs include instructions on how to install them including a template to help with positioning and fitting.
If you don't fancy tackling the job yourself, you can hire the services of a professional and you will find these if you search online or check out the Yellow Pages. You may be surprised to learn that cat flaps can be fitted to most doors including glazed doors.
We would never normally recommend cutting a hole in your door as this can significantly alter the stability of the doors construction and this is done at the customers own risk as the door guarantee will then be invalid. If you require access for a cat then you may feel this is a necessity, remember using good quality tools or preferably the services of a professional should help minimise damage to your door. It is very important when cutting into a timber door that the timber is well sealed with our recommended finishing products on all bare surfaces.