Dear AT,
I need to put a cat door into my kitchen, which goes out to an unheated back stairwell. I'd like it to look better than one of the mass market (cheap, plastic) cat doors, but I need it to be energy efficient. So far my only idea is to copy what one of my friends did for her basement door and cut a nicely shaped hole (think a giant cartoon mousehole) with a jigsaw.
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Since hers was an interior door, she left it at that but I'd then tack up a heavy piece of cloth (felted wool? canvas?) or leather with decorative upholstery tacks to keep out drafts.
I can't come up with anything else, but I'd love to hear other ideas before I take a saw to my vintage wood door. Thanks in advance (you've helped me before with kitchen color advice under my pseudonym Hazel Stone).
Thanks,
Andrea
Dear Andrea,
We'd be cautious about using just a heavy piece of cloth to keep out drafts. It might be worth getting a "pro" door installed, or finding out how to do one yourself. Many online cat doors guarantee insulation, like this Plexidor, but the look may be too typical for you. CALLING ALL CAT PEOPLE....any advice??
While I don't know the actual construction of it, have you considered making a breezeway, to better keep drafts out? There would be two doors: the interior door which would go into your kitchen door, then a short enclosed space, then an exterior door at the end that could be constructed in a more heavy-duty way? It would certainly depend on how much space you have outside of the door. But it's just a (very Chicago-winter-style) suggestion.
Without sounding like an ass... do a google search...
http://www.google.com/search?q=doggie+door&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
http://www.moorepet-petdoors.com/
I don't know much about carpentry, but I think this is something you might want to have custom made. It would just be a frame, and a little hinge that will allow the door to swing inward and outward. You can have the carpenter add strips of weather seal for extra insulation. I can't imagine it costing more than the one I found (click my name). And it would look much nicer. Or get that one and paint it to coordinate with your room.
I guess I'm looking for something that would fit more seamlessly in with my vintage stuff.
I know this isn't what Andrea is looking for, but i figured i'd describe what we're doing and maybe that would inspire someone for Andrea's cat door. We've put the cat's litter box in our bathroom linen closet. So that we don't have to leave the door open all the time, our plan is to buy a 6" dia. tube (either a sono tube or a plumbing tube), trace the outline on the drywall, saw that out, place tube in hole, drywall/spackle over, and paint the inside of the tube a bright color (i'm thinking lime green). we'll save the drywall circle piece for when we move out and the new owners realize they don't want a hole leading to their closet! i'll be sure to take pics whenever we get around to this
This is not entirely related, but I thought I would share. Two of my good friends choose to live with multiple cats. I just redid their bathroom, and I put in somethign that I considered pretty fun. We took a lower vanity cabinet under the sink and cut a small trap door into it that goes from the bedroom through the wall and into the cabinet. This allowed them to house the litter pan inside of the cabinet, and prevents them from ever having to see it (except, of course, when it is being cleaned). We hooked up a small vent line into the cabinet that hooks into the bathroom exhaust system, so the space is continually vented. With multiple cats, no one ever smells the litterbox.
The first thing I thought of was CatHole at www.cathole.com. They happen to be a family owned company, product made in the US. Designed because they had this same problem & this is their way of sharing their fix. I think you can also get a free nameplate by ordering directly through them - they have a page with the most interesting cat names, too.
Great ideas! I wish I wasn't so space constrained...