keith@fluffy.UUCP (Admin) (02/12/86)
I would like information on people's experience with pet doors that allow cats and dogs to let themselves in and out. Specifically, do all the other cats and dogs in the neighborhood also come into the house along with the squirrels, raccoons, and skunks, or do the other animals generally keep out? If this has been discussed to death here before, a mail summary would be fine.
hopp@nbs-amrf.UUCP (Ted Hopp) (02/13/86)
We put in a cat door to our crawlspace under the house by replacing
the ventilation screen with a swinging door. The door is about 6 or 7
inches high, and Florence has to squeeze herself down a little to get
in. She took to it right away; she was very happy about being able
to get at her food whenever she wanted to.
We haven't had any problem with other animals getting into the house.
I think a major part of it is that squirels and other animals don't have
a chance of getting near the house with Florence (not to mention our dog
Ada) around. One problem we do have is that Florence can now bring
in things like dead moles and birds. Before, she would show up with
these charming gifts and we could make her leave them outside. After
a couple of these, though, this seems to have stopped. She must have
gotten tired of us raiding her treasure trove and set up one outside.
Another problem we had was making the door weatherproof. During one
particularly heavy rain last summer we ended up with a pool of water
an inch deep and 15 feet across in the crawlspace. A little regrading
outside took care of that. The only thing we regret now is that Flo
can come in from a rainstorm (she's stupid enough to go out in one, but
smart enough to come back in) with muddy feet, and we are always finding
little kitty paw prints on things. (Doggone that cat!-)
Despite these problems, we wouldn't consider being without the kitty door.
--
Ted Hopp {seismo,umcp-cs}!nbs-amrf!hopprcj@burl.UUCP (Curtis Jackson) (02/15/86)
In article <193@fluffy.UUCP> keith@fluffy.UUCP (Admin) writes: > I would like information on people's experience with pet >doors that allow cats and dogs to let themselves in and out. Specifically, >do all the other cats and dogs in the neighborhood also come into the >house along with the squirrels, raccoons, and skunks, or do the other animals >generally keep out? If this has been discussed to death here before, >a mail summary would be fine. > A friend of mine who was living in the North Carolina mountains at the time had a bobcat come through her pet door. Made a mess of the kitchen before she could sneak out the front door and run around to the back door to open it and let the thing out. Other people she knew up there had had similar experiences, but only when it was bitterly cold dead-of-winter outside -- makes sense; they're just looking for a meal. -- The MAD Programmer -- 919-228-3313 (Cornet 291) alias: Curtis Jackson ...![ ihnp4 ulysses cbosgd mgnetp ]!burl!rcj ...![ ihnp4 cbosgd akgua masscomp ]!clyde!rcj
plw@drutx.UUCP (KerrPL) (02/17/86)
We had a large dog door in our house. The only time that another animal entered was a hungry neighbor's dog.
andyc@hplsla.UUCP (andyc) (02/20/86)
In article <193@fluffy.UUCP> keith@fluffy.UUCP (Admin) writes: > I would like information on people's experience with pet >doors that allow cats and dogs to let themselves in and out. Specifically, >do all the other cats and dogs in the neighborhood also come into the >house along with the squirrels, raccoons, and skunks, or do the other animals >generally keep out? If this has been discussed to death here before, >a mail summary would be fine. I installed a cat door in my basement door about six months ago and have had no problems. I live in a city neighborhood with LOTS of cats and, to my knowledge, none of them have "explored" my basement. My cat sure likes the idea of coming and going as she pleases. But, a friend of mine once went on vacation for a week, and somehow the cat door broke so that cats could only come in. Upon his return, there were a half-dozen cats in the basement (besides his own), all vigorously defending their corner of the basement! (He never knew his cats were having these wild bashes in the basement!) And, a friend living in the country has a cat door, and has had other cats come in and spray in his house. Also, his cats bring him wonderful little presents (various dismembered creatures) through the cat door. Overall, I'd recommend putting the cat door someplace where access to the whole house can be restricted - like a basement, laundry room, enclosed porch, or garage. That way you have some control if problems develop. andy hplsla!andyc
delanie@trsvax (02/20/86)
I've had a medium sized Pet Door installed for over 9 years and have had no problems with visitors. It was originally installed for my dog who was very territorial, so no animal ventured into the house. About a year ago, I acquired a cat and after a little work, she was using the door also (no litter box!). I was a little worried when I had to put my dog asleep about 2 months ago about whether we would begin having vistors brought in by the cat. Luckily she is also rather territorial and I've had to get her out of a few scrapes when she was protecting her house from an intruder cat. One warning however, our cat likes to bring presents and toys into the house. Up to date, this includes 1 rat, 2 mice, 3 birds (1 alive), 101 lizards. She loves to chase lizards. Personally, I wouldn't be without a pet door because it saves me alot of worry if I stay out late and my pet can have more freedom and hopefully not get bored too often. Good luck. Delanie Alcorn @ trsvax.UUCP
ayers@convex.UUCP (02/24/86)
>> I would like information on people's experience with pet >>doors that allow cats and dogs to let themselves in and out... >Overall, I'd recommend putting the cat door someplace where access to the >whole house can be restricted - like a basement, laundry room, enclosed >porch, or garage... I put a (dog size) pet door in my garage once -- the only trouble I had was that a couple of the neighbor's kids kept sneaking in and stealing tools. I finally had to board it up. [Yes, they were that small...] (I was living _way_ the hell & gone back in the boonies -- & wouldn't you know it -- the only people for miles around lived right across the road...) <Ki Mu Suba> blues, II
flowers@ucla-cs.UUCP (02/26/86)
Some friends of mine had their house broken in by someone getting in through their pet door. Lost almost everything valuable, including many heirlooms. I don't know how big the door was but their biggest pet was a small to medium sized dog. I have since heard of this happening a few more times.
rcd@nbires.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (02/28/86)
> ...a chance of getting near the house with Florence (not to mention our dog > Ada) around... OK, I've got to know why you named your dog Ada. I WILL be adult enough NOT to do a followup to net.lang.ada pointing out that Ada is a dog! -- Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086 ...Worst-case analysis must never begin with "No one will ever want..."