Managing without a cat flap?

[ShoeWhore]

Just about to sign the contract on a rented place- the owner had said no pets but has made an exception for ShoeCat hurrah!

But looking at the back door it's looking like it would be tricky to fit a cat flap - owners have said we can but need to make good when we leave and we're only hoping to be there 6-12 months, so don't want to be replacing external
doors really!

She doesn't routinely use a litter tray but will do in bad weather so that's ok. She's quite old now (15) and spends a lot of time snoozing in our spare room. I'm at home a lot during the week.

We do go away a bit at weekends though and I'm guessing we'd have to put her in a cattery? At the moment our lovely neighbour pops in twice a day to feed her and have a cuddle.

Do you think we'd be able to manage without a cat flap?

Sorry about the double post, phone playing tricks. I'll report.

I live in a rented house and have a 14 year old cat and no cat flap (moved here 4 years ago). She's a full time litter tray user so it is ok. The back patio door is quite often open so she gets out as much as she wants.

How much does ShoeCat like going out?

We don't have a cat flap. The cat tells me when he wants to go out and when he is ready to come in. I do wish we had a cat flap but owner said no. It's fine though.

I do sometimes wish we had a cat flap but all the external doors have glass panels and as I don't want to get a new door, we all live with it.

No cat flap here, never had one for my cat. She spends a lot of time outdoors but comes in at least once a day. She just lets us know when she wants to come in/go out by yowling! Always poos outside.

You can certainly manage if you're prepared to get up and down to let let her in and out if she wants. (I have circumstances here which mean that a cat flap wasn't suitable when The Lodger was staying and we all managed just fine.) I'd put in a couple of litter trays to accommodate her but at 15, she might be thinking more home thoughts anyway.

(You could use a cattery if you have a decent one but who knows - you might find a cat loving neighbour in the new place. Cat sitters are also an option and of comparable price to a cattery, I think.)

Two cats, no cat flap... they just ask to get in and out. They both have a litter tray, one comes in to use it the other only really uses it overnight occasionally.

If it's a double glazed door in two sections you can do it very, very cheaply and easily by replacing the bottom glazed section with UPVC, where you can fit a flap, and then putting the glazed section back in when you leave. You could do it yourself for a few pounds or get someone to do it for around £50 probably.

Can you describe the door?

We've done what catneuterer said, we didn't want the glazed panel back so disposed of it, but it was a simple enough job

And \link{http://www.sureflap.co.uk/support/installing-sureflap\here} are some guides from Sureflap which is a good microchip cat flap. They should give you an idea.

Thank you so much, really helpful. We're going to measure up for furniture on Tuesday so I'll have another look at the door then. From memory, it's wood and panelled at the bottom.

cozie we'd much much prefer a neighbour/cat sitter to a cattery but wasn't sure how that would work without a cat flap? She's not as outdoorsy as she was - there was a time she was out all day every day in reasonable weather - but she does go out a bit. I don't think she'd like being confined to the house for days at a time. She's also stone deaf so doesn't come when you call her or shake the dried food any more