Cat containment problems...
Jan. 7th, 2005 10:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miekecSo much for trying to keep Weasley inside...
Our first attempt was to replace the catflap in the basement door with a magnetically-activated one, and only have Tijgetje wear the magnet that opens it. This way, she would have full access to the basement and therefore to the catflap in the basement to the outside.
So far so good. Until we had the new door in place, and tried to get her to use it: she's too big to fit! With some extra squeezing, and a step-stool to get to the right height, she just barely manages to haul herself through. So, we scrapped that after a week or so.
Back to the original cat-door, but set to in-only. We duct-taped it, so that the flap only swings into the kitchen. This has the disadvantage that we have to let Tijgetje out manually, but she can come back in anytime. And as long as we don't let Weasley out, we should be aaaaall set. Or so we thought.
Until Karin learned to open doors. And more specifically, the basement door. Because Weasley was standing there, and obviously wanted her to open the door, she did. And then closed it after him. And was very proud of herself. Sigh.
Patch: put a latch on the door, out of her reach.
That lasted for about a day. Then, Tijgetje started opening the cat-flap for Weasley. Soon after that, him being impatient and wanting to go to the basement himself now, he learned to open the flap by sticking his claws into the duct tape and pulling. Deep sigh.
So, now we have a problem. He can open cat-flaps. And get outside. But he's too young still! And it is *cold* out there...
For now, we have given in, and put the cat-flaps back into their normal function. In and out. But we're going to have to do something. We haven't found a bigger IR or magnetic cat-door. The next-size-up is an XL dog-door, for creatures up to 100lb. Too big to fit into the door, even. Time for a home-made solution, I fear. Some IR gadget and some creative thinking, probably.
Any suggestions?
Our first attempt was to replace the catflap in the basement door with a magnetically-activated one, and only have Tijgetje wear the magnet that opens it. This way, she would have full access to the basement and therefore to the catflap in the basement to the outside.
So far so good. Until we had the new door in place, and tried to get her to use it: she's too big to fit! With some extra squeezing, and a step-stool to get to the right height, she just barely manages to haul herself through. So, we scrapped that after a week or so.
Back to the original cat-door, but set to in-only. We duct-taped it, so that the flap only swings into the kitchen. This has the disadvantage that we have to let Tijgetje out manually, but she can come back in anytime. And as long as we don't let Weasley out, we should be aaaaall set. Or so we thought.
Until Karin learned to open doors. And more specifically, the basement door. Because Weasley was standing there, and obviously wanted her to open the door, she did. And then closed it after him. And was very proud of herself. Sigh.
Patch: put a latch on the door, out of her reach.
That lasted for about a day. Then, Tijgetje started opening the cat-flap for Weasley. Soon after that, him being impatient and wanting to go to the basement himself now, he learned to open the flap by sticking his claws into the duct tape and pulling. Deep sigh.
So, now we have a problem. He can open cat-flaps. And get outside. But he's too young still! And it is *cold* out there...
For now, we have given in, and put the cat-flaps back into their normal function. In and out. But we're going to have to do something. We haven't found a bigger IR or magnetic cat-door. The next-size-up is an XL dog-door, for creatures up to 100lb. Too big to fit into the door, even. Time for a home-made solution, I fear. Some IR gadget and some creative thinking, probably.
Any suggestions?
