A Cat Door That's Cheap & Easy

By: Martin R Meyer

If you have cats and small children and/or dogs there is very often a need for a doorway to a cats only area like a basement or utility room where the cats, their litter boxes and food dishes can be isolated from the rest of the bigger residents.

Baby gates do pretty well, but us big people have to step over them and all to often catch shoes or clothes on them causing us to trip. Additionally they are completely un-safe where steps are involved. If there is a big dog on the exclusion list, baby gates are often not strong enough or high enough or stuck in the door frame tight enough to do the job reliably. And then of course, you need to put a hole in them big enough for a cat (especially an old cat) to get through the gate instead of over the gate.

Here is a solution that is very inexpensive, easy to install and remove when necessary, and strong enough to resist the best efforts of children and large pets.

It uses a 3 inch screw hook and eye assembly as a spacer and restraint.

Mount the hook side of the assembly to the door frame so that it hangs out of the way when the door is closed normally
Mount the eye in the door so that when the door is closed it does not strike the door frame and still screws into the wood frame of the door. If the eye is just screwed into the thin plywood of a hollow core door it will pull out very easily.
Notice that the eye for the hook is set back about 3/8" from the edge of the door frame. Since the frame is 3/4" thick the screw is in the center of the wood for maximum strength.
This is a view of the hook and eye from the other (inside) of the door.

Notice that there is nearly a 3 1/4" gap between the door and the door frame, This is enough space for even the biggest cat to easily walk or run through while excluding a baby or dog that is 20 pounds or more.

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Martin R Meyer is the President of Listening Systems, Inc., and OdorXit is the registered trademark of Listening Systems. Their mission is to provide the highest quality, safest odor-control products at a reasonable price and to offer the best available advice on solving odor problems, even if you don’t use their products. Visit the OdorXit Web site for a full list of OdorXit products as well as valuable information on solving a wide range of odor problems.