New House and Cat Flap issue

[NowYouListenToMeFella]

I am about to move into a new build house. It is an A rated house with air to water and I have been told by multiple people (including the site foreman) that I can't have a cat flap.

The cat flap will ruin the A rating and as they are draughty the air to water will be going non stop to warm the house.

I have two beautiful cats who are indoor/outdoor and are used to having a catflap. Moving house will be stressful enough for them. There will be sad faces at the windows and doors when they can't go out while getting used to the place.

What can I do about the cat flap situation? Has anyone else been in this situation and found a workable solution? I am more stressed about this than anything else about buying a house.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Surely the “A” rating only matters if you do sell the house so who cares?

Do you mean an A rating on an EPC? I’d be very surprised if a catflap affected this! Get a microchip-enabled one so it doesn’t flap about and stays shut except when the cats go through.

Yes what PP said. Get a decent microchip one. Don’t worry about it. Anyway a bit of air flow is good for a house.

Friends of ours who built a passive house had this problem. They discovered you can buy passive house compatible cat flaps. They cost an arm and a leg and are very space age, but they are available. They bought a second hand one from eBay in the end, which was half the price (still a small fortune).

If it’s your house and you’re buying it who cares? If it really bothers you and you think it would make a difference when / if you sell it then you could always replace the door.

Don’t ask anyone just put one in, it’s your house and your door, nobody needs to know if you’re putting a cat flap in! It’s none of their business

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I'm in Ireland so I'm assuming an EPC is the same as our BER. I do have a very good cat flap in current home. I'll look into the passive house ones. The bank account fairly drained so probably no t worth giving myself the heart attack when I see the prices.

I never realised that cat flaps can affect a house like that. As you all say it's my house and I can put one in if I wish.

Thanks again

If you don't want to spend the £ on a super expensive cat flap, can you find a small window pane or upvc door panel you can replace the glass/upvc panel in? Keep the original glass/panel to replace when you want to rent or sell. And have a new small pane/l made with cat flap hole for the dimensions for the one you choose. If worried about drafts hang a thick curtain over it.