Timer cat flap?

[Catatlast]

Does anyone have one?

I fancy being able to set times when they can get in and out. We've had one in the past where we can just turn the wee knob and manually set it to in but not out but I like the idea of being able to set times in advance because we're not always at home when it starts to get dark for example.
I see you can get all singing all dancing microchip recognition cat flaps but I don't think I feel the need for those.

Our new cats are completely black so I'm a bit more nervous about them being out after dark compared to our last cat. We've also had a new school open round the corner from us so I'd quite like to keep them in at school rush hour time when there are cars parking and reversing all over the place.

Any suggestions welcome, thank you.

Photo attached

We have a sure Petcare cat flap, it has an app that you can use to set times for more than one cat (we have 2), it's really handy and easy to use, we've had no issues with it.

Although I would also quite like to hear how the microchip flaps work? Our flap will be in a wall so I can't picture whether the microchip sensor will be on the outside or the inside, and if it will read their chip properly? I hate to think of them getting stuck outside because their chip can't get close enough to the sensor

We have a microchip app one in a wall. The sensor is in the top of the flap which is inside the house, so at the end of the tunnel from outside IYSWIM. No hassle for the cats to use, they climb into the tunnel and it unlocks the flap as their head gets to that end.
With the Sure app you can set curfews when they are locked in/out, and also just stop them by pressing a button on the app. You can also see where they are, and see their daily stats etc.

@Catatlast

Although I would also quite like to hear how the microchip flaps work? Our flap will be in a wall so I can't picture whether the microchip sensor will be on the outside or the inside, and if it will read their chip properly? I hate to think of them getting stuck outside because their chip can't get close enough to the sensor

The reader is on the outside of mine, they do sell them with tunnel extenders for putting in walls so shouldn't have any issues with reading the chip (Mine's a sureflap pet door)

We have a microchip one in a wall (not a curfew one though). The cats just come in the tunnel and it clicks as they near the cat flap which is on the inside. The tunnel is quite long as it’s a cavity wall.

I’m interested to see how the curfew ones work though. We currently block off the cat flap at night by putting something in front of it but it does mean we need to have both cats in first.

If we manually set it as “in only” one cat cat find a way by pulling it forward with her claw and dipping under it! Would a curfew flap stop that happening? It’s an expensive gamble at about £150 when I last looked!

We have a Wi-Fi enabled Sureflap that scans their microchips. We have a curfew set from 6pm to 5am and an app to see who is in and who is out.

The Sureflap cat flap website says it's not recommended for clever cats :)

@Catatlast oh no 😕, I suppose that is my answer then. Where does it say that??

@Catatlast

The Sureflap cat flap website says it's not recommended for clever cats :)

We had to stop using the curfew setting because ours would mournfully sit in front of the cat flap singing the "it's broken, it doesn't work anymore" song.

It doesn't click when the curfew is on, and ours don't try to bang it open until they hear the click. One of them will slap it until it's swinging and only then go through.

Ah so it doesn’t click at all on curfew. That’s good.
Will it let them in though I assume if they are still out when curfew starts?

I quite like the fact we put something in front of it now so it’s not the cat flap not working in their eyes, it’s us stopping them. They are quite used to it and don’t moan. But it means we have to be there to get them in each evening which isn’t sustainable for ever.

We have a sureflap microchip pet door and it has a curfew setting. Works well for our boy

@Kittekats We have a Sureflap microchip connect flap, and one of our cats also managed to open it by hooking her claw under the door when it was locked. We contacted Sureflap and they sent us a replacement door insert which has a slightly different closure. Took minutes too I install and she's not managed to break out since.

Thanks @violetbunny that is really interesting. That is exactly what my clever cat does, gets a claw underneath then gradually pulls it up until she can get a paw under thrown lift it properly. But if we know there is an alternative to stop her that is really helpful.