There’s a Reason I’ve Seen This Cat Door in Several Homes (It’s So Smart!)
As a pet parent, I understand what it feels like to want to ensure that my furry companions are always comfortable and have the independence to live as they please (although I wish they wanted to be near me constantly!). But certain living circumstances can make that a bit challenging. For example, my air conditioning unit and fire escape outside of my windows prevent me from building a catio for my dog and bunny to enjoy.
However, this design roadblock pushed me to find other ways to make my pets happy. For the bunny, that means raising her to be free-roam and purchasing a stroller to get some fresh air. Alternatively, the dog goes on multiple long walks daily to experience the outdoors. Whenever I see pet parents going the extra mile for their animals (like purchasing these incredible cat-specific IKEA products), I can’t help but feel a sense of camaraderie.
As the Associate Home Editor at Apartment Therapy, I constantly see a lot of happy pets in homes and learn how pet parents have made a design decision (or two!) to improve their animals’ lives. So when I noticed a pattern emerging among cat parents, I thought there was something there.
Marion and Hannah live in a beachy home in Brighton, U.K., with their two cats, Pascal and Margot. Their home is a rental, so they’re unable to make major changes, but still found a way to give their cats freedom — and it happens to be their proudest DIY.
“Our proudest DIY is the cat flap,” Marion explained at the time of the tour. “We’re renting, so we couldn’t cut a hole into any existing doors. Hannah found a piece of white plywood by the bin in the street, which was perfect. She used a multitool to cut the wood to fit the window and put a hole in it for the cat flap. The whole thing slots into the window and can be removed when we move.”
This rental-friendly hack is an ingenious way to ensure you’ll get your security deposit back while letting your cats roam freely. It’s so clever that even homeowners, like Kim Johnson, have installed it in their spaces. Kim shares this gorgeous historic home in Canada with her husband and three “semi-feral/feral cats” named Bernie, Frankie, and Georgie.
Kim did the same thing as Marion and Hannah, but placed her cat door in the kitchen window (here are some tips for keeping cats off the kitchen counters, too). I’ve never been lucky enough to be a cat parent (yet!), but I’ve heard from friends that cats are fickle pets who prefer independence. This cat door gives them just that and saves you from opening the door for them.
Further Reading
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