Cat flap - is it possible to get one that is draughtproof & insulated?

[langstroth3]

Our cats have to enter (or exit) through....a cat flap in a (single skin) garage wall<--->a cat flap to the utility room<---->a cat flap from utility room to kitchen. I guess they're not overly keen as they stand at the back door to get out/in when we're in the house!

That way we get very little in the way of drafts thru to the kitchen - as opposed to a cat flap in the back door, which was the other option. Cost me 3 cat flaps instead of 1 mind. The one in the wall is very low down (but above the damp course layer in the brick work) and behind a row of small bushes outside so the wind doesn't effect it much.

[Quakered]

Sorry Mr Gus but I do not see how your numbers computer! A cat flap is about 6 inches by 6 inches or quarter of a square foot. Now if you assume the heat loss through the plastic flap will be the same as a single glazed window (a rather harsh assumption…) then the heat loss for a 20 degree difference is going to be around 2 to 3 watts. That amount of electricity is not likely to offer moggie much comfort on a winter’s night outside.

The article on pets costing the environment more than a Toyota Land Cruiser is the sort of nonsense that makes people with the very faintest glimmer of intelligence believe that the Environmental Industry is just spouting nonsense and anything they say should be regarded as drivel. An acre of land can produce the energy required to build and run a 4.6 litre Land Cruiser to 10,000 klms?  Perhaps if the land was an open cast coal mine but surely not agricultural land.

They also suggest that a cat consumes over a third of an Alsatian. How does that work when your average moggie weighs a tenth of an Alsatian?

Finally the article fails to recognise that the food relationship between man and their pets in largely symbiotic as pet food in made from the parts of the animal not normally eaten by people (well except those who eat in McDonalds….)

To misquote Churchill, there are lies, damned lies and Environmental statistics.

[charlesg]

There are a few draft-proof cat flaps or pet doors on the market.  There are also a number that claim to be, but fall short of the mark.  Look at the products carefully to be sure that they suit your needs.  For those opening into an insulated space, consider a model with 2 flaps that seal, leaving an insulating air space.  Be aware that some cats will have trouble opening models with strong seals, particularly those with double flaps.  Here are a couple of models with good seals:

  Introducing the "Endura Flap"
  http://www.petdoors.com/endura-flap.html

  Freedom Pet Pass - Door-Mount
  http://www.americas-pet-store.com/freedom-pet-pass-door-mount-pet-doors.html

If you have a closed off porch, attached garage or utility shed, you might want an electronic model that detects special tags on your cats collar or an embedded id chip, so you can lock out stray cats and wildlife while allowing free access to your cat.  A second pet door into the living space could be a model that seals well.  If you put the opening through a wall, you can use an electronic model on the outside and one that seals well on the inside.

Please don't eat your pets.  The lifestyle choice with the greatest environmental payoff, is to eat a vegetarian diet.  Our pets help us get there by reminding us of the personalities and the value of other, non-human, animals.

[MR GUS]

Quakered, no  computer modelling, as was the statement "I presume" if you live in a leaky heat house there's difference aplenty, if you have say a void for air passage to an oil boiler into your living area (unused) then you'd make the comparison of vent vs petdoor, both being around the same size, the temperature drop in this area & leading off it plummet dramatically.
As for cat's we've had a fair few, including farm cats who essentially live outside in the main & survive pretty well, the wifes hospital has hospital cats to keep rodent population down, they are fed but are left to roam & hunt the site.

these heatpads work pretty well or else they wouldn't use them in professional kennels / boarding kennels.

Whilst I wouldn't leave my cat out unnecessarily (hunting kills of birds at feeding times) i'd have no qualms leaving one of these pads in a suitably constructed area to supplement the dry & warmth a cat inevitably seeks out when out for extended periods, if you can expel the draughts it'd be quite cosy being dry in the first instance.
cats were cats before they were housecats.
the ideal is to have it in a shed or garage, somewhere a cat would naturally seek out as cover, however as I originally stated if you did it properly, insulated & raised you'd multiply the useful heat over a small area logically.
eg a boxed out foil foam cathouse.

ultimately a cat shouldn't be out overnight, this should be an out of house daybed for when temperatures are up anyway.

[Tigger]

I completely agree with Mr Gus, ideally a cat should not be out overnight.  Certainly not if it's truly a pet since it's the night time when most of them meet up with cars and lose the argument.  The exception of course being those fortunate enough to live where roads and cars are not a problem.....

The pet heat pads that have been referred to do work very well at what they are intended for.  Put them underneath a pad inside a cardboard box and you will have one very happy/cosy/sleepy puss-cat.  We used to house two 'brothers' in our old shed, they had a cat flap in a sheet of plywood that replaced one of the windows and then a box on the bench with an old pillow in it with the heat pad under it.  The two of them were frequently to be found snuggled up together when I went out to check on them first thing in the morning.  Of course with time they were allowed into the house with the other two and were more than happy to go out during the day but snuggle up in front of the fire before darkness came

As for a draft free cat flap, we use a staywell which seems to do OK but it is in the Utility room door so the draft don't tend to get as far as the kitchen/breakfast room....

[MR GUS]

Tigger, how did you rate the consumption, some are on low level all the time, & others require the pressure of the cat to activate it? wondering which type you had.

bearing in mind a single electric blanket is rated around 56W the footprint for a cat bed to draw significant comfort must be pretty darn low making it (certainly if on a timer) pretty efficient in the scheme of things.

[Quakered]

I fear our cats are treated like furry grandchildren and they expect to be warm! Since they are Siamese and therefore bred to inhabit temples in Thailand, perhaps they have a case. They come and go as they wish and most assuredly like to spend parts of summer nights out of doors.

[Tigger]

Mr Gus, from memory they are less than 10w but I'll have to go in the loft and have a look.  The ones we have got are permanently on but are so low powered as to not be worth worrying about.

[SteveH]

 Make your feline friends work for you....

 In winter, Cats will find any heat spots & will avoid cold drafts like the plague... If they have a favourite bed move it around to find problem areas...

 If they end-up on your lap all the time, then you probably need more insulation....

[MR GUS]

No worries tigger, sounds like a standard unit to me.
We had a good  large dog sized one for our oldest boxer & getting him off it come the morning was nigh on impossible, he loved it, til the pup chewed the cable, it was big enough for 2 dogs & around 35watts as I recall, made a cold conservatory very snug for the animals in winter till we moved them into the workshop, think we'll invest in another with SWA fitted as we've got a new boxer pup with achey back teeth! 

..it's either that or a 750 watt rad cycling on & off!

[Tigger]

8.5 - 10w according to the specification plate on the bottom, that's got to be better than cycling a 750 watt rad

[solar_cambridge]

How about making up a box base with 100mm solid insulation, and filling it a few inches deep with cement that has embedded trace heating wire in.  Like their their own underfloor heating.

[AndySussex]

I've got a Staywell cat flap (for my doggy) which is in our double glazed patio doors. Had to get a new piece of glass cut for the purpose and they put the tunnel bit in when they sealed the DG unit. Pretty draft proof but not as good as proper double glazing...

[MarkB]

I'm seriously considering placing an order for a Freedom Pet Pass cat flap from the States to go into my PassivHaus. However, the shipping costs are almost as much as the cat flap. Is anyone else considering buying, and we could maybe split the shipping costs?

(We're not going to need it for a year, but it would be good to get on in my hands and work out how to mount the thing correctly, but also so that it could be replaced later. Since we're working out the build details now I could use having one.)

Thanks,
Mark.