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Cat door in window (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago by Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world to c/diy@slrpnk.net

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I have a horizontal gliding window that opens to my patio and I wanted to put a cat door in it so these little buggers can get out. I looked at buying one, but wow they're expensive.

My thoughts are to build a frame out of 1x1"s and have plexiglass in between it with one of those door flaps you can buy to install into it.

Would that work? Be sufficient enough? The window is never in the sun and not exposed to a lot of elements at all, so I don't think I need to go over the top.

And before anyone gets up in arms, the patio is netted in and the cats can't escape. They're not free roam, just allowed to be outside in their controlled area.

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[–] Today@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (7 children)

Seems fine. If you don't need to see out that part of the window you could just put the flap in a piece of plywood. Check the scrap bin at Lowe's for one that's close to the right size. Maybe put adhesive weatherstripping around the edge to hold it in well.

How did you net it? We have a small side yard that's fenced/gated. I've been wondering how i could cover it to give my kitties a play zone.

[–] Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

My apartment patio is covered, so I have some tall jacks that hold the corners, I stapled across the top, and at the bottom I used velcro ties to hold the net to the gate.

I have built a few standalone catios as well. I usually use goat wire as I've had some issues with chicken wire before, staple it to whatever frame I'm using, and then add an exterior aesthetic frame to the outside to help hold everything in place and to look much nicer.

[–] pdqcp@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Would you mind sharing which issues you had with chicken wire? Was it not sturdy enough?

[–] Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

The sturdiness was an issue because my cats could bend it easily. Also the smaller gauge of the wire meant that they were chewing on it at times.

My biggest issue is that my boy got his paw stuck after reaching through to try and get a bug or something and hurt himself pretty bad after freaking out.

Goat wire is typically higher gauge, sturdier, and the holes are bigger but definitely not big enough to escape through.

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