"Ted Davis" <tdavis@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:pan.2008.09.27.13.46.43.766000@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:02:21 +1000, Peter
> Jason wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> I have a similar problem because all the
>> doors are covered with strong
>> steel gates. I propose to have a opening
>> made with a 6-inch hole saw all
>> the way thru the masonry in one wall and
>> glue the cat flap to this. A
>> small ****eld over the outside opening will
>> stop rain getting in. The cat
>> will have to squeeze thru though.
>
> Six inches is a little small for large
> cats, but should work for small
> ones. Mine is 9 by 7.5 and my largest cats
> hit both sides and/or the top
> - the small cats just scoot right through.
>
> I have been working on a design for weather
> proof flaps for several years
> and I think I have a working design now.
> The idea is that the flap rests
> against a stop and has to be pulled up -
> wind pusshes it down harder. The
> frame is made of wood and has a raised and
> slanted frame around the hole
> to act as the stop. The first real problem
> was the hinge: standard hinges
> have entirely too much resistance, so I
> removed the hinge pin and replaced
> it with a piece of rod somewhat smaller -
> problem solved. The problem
> that has proved more intractable is
> attaching the rigid plastic flap to
> the hinge: glue doesn't work for long (the
> flap falls off), neither do
> screws (they break the plastic). The
> current design has the flap
> snadwiched between two strips of wood at
> the top with screws holding the
> strips together through oversize holes in
> the plastic. There is also a
> strip near the bottom that extends beyond
> the sides of the flap to give
> the cats something to grab hold of to pull
> it open. Of course, there
> should be a flap on the inside as well for
> additional insulation and to
> stop air being sucked out.
>
> Since I also have a raccoon, possum, and
> skunk problem, the cat door is
> just above a platform that is 38 inches
> diagonally from the back steps:
> cats can leap this easily, but the vermin
> can't, nor can they climb to it
> because there is nothing within three feet
> of the ground for them to grab
> hold of.
>
> --
>
> T.E.D. (tdavis@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
) MST (Missouri
> University of Science and Technology)
> used to be UMR (University of Missouri -
> Rolla).
Many of my friends have cat flaps, but their
houses are large and usually have a veranda
over the siting of the cat flap, or they have
a dog flap that the cat uses too.
My house is in town, and also it is slightly
below ground level and this complicates
everything. Hole-sawing a tunnel in the
brick wall is easy and this I have had done
elsewhere (of smaller diameter) to ensure
adequate air circulation under the house, but
if this has to be done at an angle it might
have to be much larger for the cat to get
thru. Anything larger than 6" would be
unsightly.
Another solution is possible in my case
because I have installed a dummy single step
at the very rear of the house to let air
circulate up thru this from a large old hole
in the external brick wall. This has been
very successful, and I may be able to use
this for a cat flap by fixing the catflap to
the side of the step inside, and also
installing chicken wire appropriately under
the step to prevent the cat (and vermin) from
getting under the house proper. I suppose
the cat will learn to take a convoluted
journey from the hole in the masonry, past a
few sharp turns and up thru the cat flap
close to the back stairs. There is so much
security in the house that opening and
closing external doors for the cat would be
too much work.
Someone I knew simply left one of the access
trapdoors in the floor open and the cat found
her way in and out through this. But then
the cat uses the dirt under the house as a
toilet which was smelly. It's all a big
problem.
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