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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 16 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 Great for use on indoor cats to control feeding Mar 13, 2009
By K. King
I want to preface my review by stating that I got this door for indoor use, and if you're looking for a door to go on the outside then there are better options out there than this one. But for use indoors, this one fits the bill just fine.
I have five cats, and one is on a diet. I previously had a cat bowl on a counter top that only four could reach, but when my fat cat learned to make the jump I had to come up with a different solution. I decided I needed to make a feeding box, and the four cats that could eat whenever they want would have magnetic collars that would allow them access but would keep the cat on a diet out.
The installation instructions recommend installing the door at a height between 4"-6". I measured my cats and installed it at a 5" on my temporary cardboard feeding box, but they were having trouble the first few days with getting the magnets on their collars to trigger the door because their magnets were still too high up. I raised the box up by 2" (to a 7" total height) and they now have a much easier time getting in. So try a test run to see just how much effort it takes for your cat to get the magnet to activate before you cut into an actual door. All four cats were able to adjust quickly after I fixed the height issues.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 good idea, bad product Jun 26, 2009
By Daria Louch
We originally purchased this door so we could put the cat litter in the attached garage. It worked so well that after one month we decided to purchase a second one that leads from the garage to the outdoors...that's when the trouble started. The raccoons simply strip the magnet off the flap so they can get into the garage...and the house. We then tried crazy gluing the magnetic strip onto the flap so it can't be removed only to find out that the magnetic lock is hosed anyway. That's why I'm on this site today...to try and figure out "plan B" before the skunks figure it out too!
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
not secure Jan 02, 2009
By Hollis Blanchard
Simply put, this door is not secure. It took our 15 lb. cat about 15 seconds of leaning on it before it popped open (he's on a diet, and there was food on the other side). The latch is too far to the side of the opening, and the door is too flexible, so he just pushed on the other side and it flexed until it opened. If I had installed this in an exterior door, I'm sure a suitably motivated critter could enter as well.
We replaced this with the product from Cat Mate and are quite pleased with that one.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Returned it. Easy to pop open. Apr 02, 2010
By Amanda Robinson
I bought this door (the Pet Safe Magnetic door) because I liked the idea of not needing batteries as some of the other doors do. I needed an electronic door for a feeding box to separate my two cats during feeding time since one had to be put on a prescription diet. I was going to put the non prescription cat's food in the box (since it would be bad for the sick cat to eat the regular food, but not the end of the world if the other cat had a bit or two of the prescription food).
The sick cat is definitly the dominate, more food-motivated cat, so I figured he'd be first at the trough when the auto-feeder went off with his food anyways. So, everything should have worked out.
I bought a large storage tote with handles that locked over the lid, cut the door-sized hole in the side of it, installed the door, and set it up with the non-perscription food in it.
Literally, in under 10 seconds, the dominate, food motivated cat had popped the cat door open and had gained access to the off-limits food. I returned this door.
I think it really is a design flaw that the latch that holds the door closed until the magnetic tag trips it is located at the bottom corner of the door. When a cat (or raccoon) pushes hard enough on the other corner, the clear plastic door is flexible enough that the whole door just pops over the latch that is supposed to be holding it closed.
I ended up deciding to get two other different doors so each cat could have their own private eating space. I got a Cat Mate magnetic door, and a Cat Mate Super Selective microchip activated door. The magnetic one is similar in price to the Pet Safe, but the Super Selective costs about twice as much. But, if you have two cats in my situation, you can't have two magnetic doors because any magnet will open either door, so they wouldn't be kept away from the other's food.
I love the Cat Mate doors. Even on the magnetic one, the latch is centered at the bottom of the door, so it would be much harder to get open just by pushing on it. But, a smart racoon with claws might figure out that he could pull the door back toward him and get in that way. My cat that is not allowed in this door is not super agressive, so I haven't seen her try to get in, but I can tell this is a sturdier magnetic door than the Pet Safe and would probably keep most all cats out.
The Cat Mate Super Selective has little pegs that pop up into the base of the door and hold the door in place from both directions, so it is advertised as "racoon proof." I have found it to be very effective against my food bully tomcat. He's almost tipped the box over (and spilled the water bowl inside), but he hasn't opened the door. Plus, if you have several cats you need to separate, the Cat Mate Selective or Super Selective is your only option since it senses each cat's unique microchip tag and allows or disallows access based on each individual cat's chip. If you only need to separate two cats, or two groups of cats, you can get away with using one magnetic door and one microchip door.
In summary, I would not use the Pet Safe magnetic door if I were using it as a door to the outside. It would be too easy for other animals to get in. If you need to separate indoor cats for feeding purposes, and none of the cats are too strong or motivated to get at the other's food, the Pet Safe door might work, but I believe the Cat Mate options are better designed, sturdier, and just better doors. I've been using these for just over one month now, and am very happy with them both.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
hello ginger tom Mar 23, 2010
By Mrs. M. E. Bristow
had a great deal of trouble fitting cat flap in upvc door and on one of those nights when you just can't sleep came downstairs to a great big strange ginger tom rushing out at the sound of my footsteps through the cat flap no problem and my lazy lump of a cat slept through it all
See all 16 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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