How To Keep The Cat From Using The Dog Door { DIY Dog Door Hack }

This post doesn’t really have much to do with decorating, but it does have to do with solving a problem that keeps my pets safe and my house cleaner…trying to keep the cat from using the dog door, while still letting the dog go in and out as he pleases.


This is Winston. He is a 10 year old cocker spaniel who has been using a dog door for his whole life.






This is Chanel, a 4 year old cat who suddenly decided she wanted to use the dog door, too. The problems are that:
1. she is supposed to be an indoor cat (statistically, outdoor cats have much shorter life spans),
2. all that white fur didn't stay white very long when she was rolling around in the garden and,
3. she learned very quickly how to bring me "presents" (in the form of dead mice...yuck!)






After doing a lot of research (trying to find products to buy that would fix this), I finally decided to try to update the dog door I already had. It uses a magnet along the bottom of the flap to keep it closed. So I figured I could add extra magnets. That would make the door harder to open, so that the cat couldn't open the flap, but not so strong that the dog couldn't go through.






I attached the larger magnet to the frame of the door, and the two smaller magnets to the flap so that they would meet up. And I placed them strategically...at the height that the cat is usually trying to push through.






Then I repeated on the other side. I actually put 2 sets of extra magnets on the right side of the flap (probably overkill) because that's the side the cat likes to use the most.






It's been two months, and the cat has given up trying to get out...so Winston has his dog door to himself! And the best part is that the whole thing cost less than $20.
To see the other options that I considered (they might work for some situations!), and more details on the dog door "hack", click the link below.







Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/10155298/how-to-keep-the-cat-from-using-the-dog-door-diy-dog-door-hack site