Once a cat door has been installed, it can be a challenge to remove, so it’s important you find the best cat door for you on your first try.
For those who want to keep costs down, there is the Interior Cat Door from Purrfect Portal. If you have extra room in your budget, however, you will want to give careful consideration to the Aluminum Sash Window Pet Door from Ideal Pet Products.
We’ll be examining both, along with some alternative models, in this look at the best cat doors on the market.
The Best Cat Doors
Buyer’s Guide
As mentioned above, there is more pressure to get it right the first time when shopping for a cat door than there is with virtually any other product. For that reason, we want to give you some pointers to help you determine the best cat door for your home before introducing you to some specific models. You’ll find the most important things to consider when in the market for a cat door discussed below.
Indoors or Outdoors?
While external cat doors are the most popular models among cat owners, there are internal cat doors which may better suit your cat’s needs. Most interior cat doors can be installed in doors and walls, meaning your cat no longer has to be restricted to a single room when you’re out of the house.
Types of Cat Doors
Internal and external cat doors can be further divided into door, wall, and window models. Obviously, all window cat doors are external cat doors and are designed to be installed exclusively in the window of a home. Many cat owners avoid window cat doors as they can be quite expensive and can be rather unsightly once fitted. Door cat doors, obviously the most popular choice, should be carefully examined before you settle on the model that is right for you as internal cat doors are rarely suitable for external use (and vice versa).
Fail to properly research each model you consider purchasing and you may end up with a cat door entirely unsuited to your needs. Sliding doors require a cat door specifically designed for sliding doors. Thankfully, sliding door cat flaps are among the easiest to install and require no cutting or professional installation, so you won’t have to worry about permanently altering your door.
Size
Cats don’t vary quite as much in size as their canine counterparts, but it is nonetheless important to measure your cat before dropping your hard-earned cash on a cat door. To determine the necessary width of your cat door, we suggest adding an inch to the width of your cat. Similarly, add an inch to the height of your cat to establish the necessary height of your cat door. Getting sizing right will help prevent stray cats and other animals from accessing your home through your cat door.
Best Cat Door Reviews
The Kitty Pass
- The Kitty Pass is the safest and cutest...
- Smooth, Wide opening allows your cat to...
- No eye offending Screw Holes or logos,...
- Pass through opening is 7 1/2" wide and...
- Comes completely finished in a beautiful...
Sharing its name with its manufacturer, the Kitty Pass is an interior cat door designed to fit all standard doors and can be comfortably fitted in any door with a depth of 1 ¼” to 1 ¾”. One of the major selling points of the Kitty Pass is the ease with which it can be installed. Requiring no professional installation, the Kitty Pass can be fitted in your chosen door in under half an hour, with the whole process streamlined by a comprehensive instruction manual and an included cutting template. It can even be painted to match the decor of your home.
The Kitty Pass is pretty straightforward and doesn’t boast many high-tech features, which is why some cat owners have taken issue with its price. Typically selling for close to $40, this is one of the more expensive internal cat doors to appear in this article. The Kitty Pass comes packaged with a number of strips intended to hold it to the door. A number of cat owners who have purchased this door, however, have reported these strips failing in their duty.
- Easy installation
- Fits all standard doors
- Cutting template included
- Expensive
- Adhesive strips are ineffective
- Delicate
Ideal Pet Products Aluminum Sash Window Pet Door
- High quality white finish aluminum...
- Locking rigid flap is made of...
- Recommended for pets 2 to 25 Pounds
- Need Assistance? E-mail Ideal Pet...
If you don’t mind spending a little bit extra, the Ideal Pet Products Aluminum Sash Window Pet Door is certainly worthy of your consideration. Available in sizes ranging from small to super large, this pet door promises to match your cat’s body and can be installed in almost all sash windows. It boasts a magnetic flap closure, which ensures its seal remains shut when not in use, allowing your house to retain its warmth and avoid drafts. Those who are particularly concerned with their security have the option of purchasing the Ideal Pet Products Aluminum Sash Window Pet Door with a four-way lock.
The obvious drawback of the Ideal Pet Products Aluminum Sash Window Pet Door is its high price. Those who decide this is the best cat door for their home will have to resign themselves to spending more than similar cat doors to buy it.
- Multiple sizes available
- Four-way lock option available
- Magnetic flap closure
- Expensive
- Unsuitable in extreme weather
- May not fit older windows
Purrfect Portal Interior Cat Door
- EXCLUSIVE CAT SILHOUETTE SHAPE: Let your...
- ENJOY AN ODOR-FREE HOME: Close the door...
- MADE TO LAST: Unlike some other pet...
- FITS HOLLOW-CORE & SOLID DOORS: With its...
- FOOLPROOF INSTALLATION: Use the template...
For cash-conscious pet owners, there is this offering from Purrfect Portal. The Purrfect Portal Interior Cat Door generally sells for a little over $20, which makes it one of the more affordable cat doors to appear on this list. For your money – or, perhaps more accurately, lack thereof – you will receive an extra-large cat portal, capable of accommodating cats up to 20 pounds in weight. This portal can be easily attached to your chosen door or wall with the screws with which it comes packaged.
Installation is further simplified by the included silhouette, which allows the entire process to be completed in less than 20 minutes. Purrfect Portal is pretty confident in its abilities as a manufacturer of cat doors. So confident, in fact, that it backs every purchase of the Purrfect Portal Interior Cat Door with a lifetime warranty.
Complaints about the Interior Cat Door are actually pretty hard to find. It is worth noting, however, that a number of Purrfect Portal customers have been less than impressed with the brand’s quality control. If reports are to be believed, the Purrfect Portal Interior Cat Door occasionally ships with parts missing.
- Affordable
- Easy installation
- Lifetime warranty
- Occasionally ships with missing parts
- Only one size available
- No integrated grooming brush
CatHole Cat Door
- HIDE THE LITTER BOX: Are you tired of...
- INSTALLATION: The Cathole cat door is...
- GROOMING: These attractive cat doors...
- MATERIAL: The frames are made of...
- MADE IN USA: This product is 100% made...
CatHole proclaims its Cat Door to be the very first interior cat door to feature an integrated brush, which is difficult to prove or disprove. The brand also claims that its Cat Door is the only cat door on the market to feature an integrated brush, which is a blatant lie. What is not up for debate, however, is that the CatHole Cat Door is very impressive indeed.
Manufactured in the US, the CatHole Cat Door is devoid of many of the flaws that are often present in mass-produced Asian offerings. It can easily be installed in a door or wall in approximately half an hour with no professional help required. With a width of 8.5 inches and a height of 8.5 inches, the CatHole Cat Door can accommodate cats of up to 20 pounds in weight, much like the previous offering from Purrfect Portal. Finally, the integrated grooming brush which CatHole makes such a fuss about can be easily removed and cleaned when necessary.
As we mentioned, CatHole likes to claim that its Cat Door is the only cat door on the market to feature an integrated brush. This, as you will find out in just a little bit, is completely untrue. CatHole’s willingness to lie in this area certainly casts doubts upon some of the other claims it makes about its Cat Door. The CatHole Cat Door basically asks you to spend $10 more than its Purrfect Portal counterpart for little extra beyond a grooming brush.
- Integrated grooming brush
- 20-pound capacity
- Made in the US
- Expensive
- CatHole makes false claims
- May require painting
PetCitrus Cat Flap
- ✅ SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE OF LETTING...
- ✅ SUITABLE FOR - cats lighter than 19...
- ✅ MODERN DESIGN 4 WAYS LOCK with a...
- ✅ EASY INSTALLATION - instructions are...
- ✅ GIVE YOUR PET THE FREEDOM HE OR SHE...
External cat doors can get pretty pricey, which is one of the primary reasons so many cat owners have chosen this offering from PetCitrus to grant their cat access to their home. One of the most affordable external cat flaps on the market, the PetCitrus Cat Flap promises a performance becoming of a far more expensive model. This cat door boasts a four-way locking system, meaning it can be set to open and close, as well as entrance or exit only.
Its ABS plastic seal features a magnetic clip for greater security, reducing the risk of wind and rain penetrating your house. Although it is most commonly used as an external cat door, the PetCitrus Cat Flap is suitable for installation in all doors and walls, meaning you can use it as an internal cat door.
The installation process of the PetCitrus Cat Flap is pretty straightforward, although you wouldn’t guess that if you were to glance at the instructions PetCitrus includes with each purchase of the product. Many who have chosen the PetCitrus Cat Flap have complained of said instructions being unclear and difficult to follow. It should also be noted that a number of PetCitrus customers have found the flap’s pile insulation to be inadequate.
- Affordable
- One-year warranty
- Suitable for external and internal use
- Inadequate pile insulation
- Unclear instructions
- Unsuitable in extreme weather
PAWSM Interior Cat Door
- ✅ CAT DOOR WITH CLIP ON SELF GROOMING...
- ✅ REDUCES CAT HAIR SCATTERED ACROSS...
- ✅ CAT DOOR SEPARATES LITTLE KIDS AND...
- ✅ COMPATIBLE WITH HOLLOW AND SOLID...
- ✅FIGHTS ANIMAL CRUELTY: Big thanks to...
The PAWSM Interior Cat Door is a pretty good option for anybody looking for a means of allowing their feline friend to move from room to room when doors are shut. Derailing CatHole’s aforementioned claims of exclusivity, the PAWSM Interior Cat Door features an integrated grooming brush which will scratch your cat’s back and collect its stray hair as they make the journey through it. It can accommodate small, medium, and large cats and can be installed in solid and hollow doors with ease, largely owing to the comprehensive instruction manual with which it comes packaged. You can also expect to receive the necessary cutting template inside the box.
For an internal cat door, the PAWSM Interior Cat Door is a tad on the pricey side. Those who own particularly large cats should take their search for an interior cat door elsewhere, as a number of owners of 20-pound and above cats have reported having to modify the door for their cats to comfortably pass through it.
- Integrated grooming brush
- Comprehensive instruction manual
- 1-year warranty
- Not suitable for extra-large cats
- Expensive
- May require additional adhesive
Conclusion
An integrated brush is certainly a nice feature in an internal cat door, but, as you can see from some of the models examined in this article, it drives up price quite significantly. For that reason, we suggest all cat owners hoping to save money in their search for an internal cat door go with the Purrfect Portal Cat Door.
The Purrfect Portal Cat Door will let your cat pass through your chosen wall or door safely and effortlessly while its lack of an integrated grooming brush keeps its price low. You will, of course, have to brush and groom your cat to rid it of those loose hairs, but is that really such a bad thing?
For those searching for an external cat door, we generally recommend the Ideal Pet Products Aluminum Sash Window. While it will probably set you back quite a bit more than you would like to be spending, the vast majority of those who have purchased it insist that it is worth the money and then some, and we are inclined to agree.
Last update on 2024-04-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
