Patio door - how to let in fresh air but keep cat inside?

[midnightvelvet01]

We got our rescue Ragdoll last October & she's my first cat so this is the first time I've been confronted with this :)

We have double French doors into our back garden & I'm missing having them open in this weather, can't risk the cat going outside as our back garden is not secure & there are 3 big bruiser cats 2 doors down who she hides from already if they come close to the house. So I need to keep 1 cat in & 3 cats out :)

I've had a look online & you can buy special hinged doors at about £150 for one door, which is too expensive. Or people seem to be recommending velcro & pet mesh. So line the inside frame of the door with velcro, glue velcro onto the mesh & stick them both together.

What does everyone here use for their indoor cats?

Thanks

[Floralnomad]

My mum used to have a wire filled wooden frame that fitted in the gap which was less to keep the cat in but more to keep him away from the dogs - she hasn't used it for a couple of years though and just has fans going - much easier !

[WoodenPuddle]

No idea sorry (helpful!) but I'm wondering the same thing, so marking my place for ideas.

[RubbishMantra]

I use flat cats on my upstairs windows. He'll make them to any size though.

[AnulTheMagnificent]

You can buy the mesh that Flat Cats are made of and stick it on the frame with sticky back velcro or magnetic tape. However I would be wary of this on a door if someone didn't realise and walked into it as it could be pushed off.

I have aviary panels (some were bought second hand, some new) made into an enclosure around the patio doors and windows, and over the top. You can buy panes with a door in so you still have access to outside via the door and your cat can also enjoy sitting out. I did have to cobble the panels together to make them tall enough for clearance as they were bought for a previous house, but they work fine. If you do this, join them together with wire rather than cable ties as they can break over time, and make sure you have a good catch on the door part.

Panels can be made to measure or standard size.

[googoodolly]

We have screens on our flat windows (kind of like the fly doors they have in Australia). DP fitted them so that they can be taken down if necessary - they cover the whole window and it means we can have fresh air and no cats escaping!

[moonbells]

I just bought a long length of mesh and the hooky side of sticky velcro, attached the velcro to each window and cut the mesh to fit with a decent overlap. You press it on with the back of a spoon and it works very well. It kept our two inside after we got them, and has done a good job of keeping flies out ever since!

I have wondered whether to sew the fluffy side onto the mesh though, to stop me having to press the mesh onto the hooks it hurts if you use fingers

[AnulTheMagnificent]

I find sticky velcro needs replacing after a little while as it starts coming away with the screen.

Magnetic sticky back tape might be better.