Microchip Cat Doors- High Tech Service For Feline Freedom

In this world of high-tech, automated everything, it comes as little surprise that pet supplies are advancing too. Soon, we might have Mini- Alexa Flea machines that hang from your cats collar and send an alert that a flea has been spotted on the 10th hair down from the top of the left ear.

When you think about it, a cat wearing a door opener on its collar just might live in a home with a whole slew of other high-tech kitty stuff like automatic feeders, self-cleaning litter boxes, and toy mice that chase them instead of the other way around. Just like any other feline gadget in this category, there are both good and bad things to consider about these kind of products.

The Positive Benefits Of Microchip Door Openers For Cats

Products like this do have many good things about them. They solve a problem for frustrated cat parents. They give anxious or bored pets a sense of adventure and an opportunity for more exercise. Here are a few good things about these products:

1. Feeling Relieved To Give Your Pet Freedom.
2. Keeps Indoor Litter Boxes Fresher Longer.
3. Lets You Get Some Rest From General Furry-Pants And His Demands

The Negative Aspects Of Door Opening Microchips

There are not-so-great things to consider about these kind of products as well.

1. Setting The Whole System Up
2. Depending Too Much On Technology

3. Best For Home Owners, Not Renters

 _{Image credit: Orange and white tabby cat-Walking-Hisashi-01, Hisashi from Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0}

PetSafe Microchip Interior-Exterior Cat Doors

This handsome white feline just got home from his important business meeting with the other neighborhood watch members.

After a long,hard day of work, its nice to be able to go right in for a nice catnap.

• Made for cats up to 15 pounds.
• It can be programed to be enter-only, exit-only, locked, or unlocked.
• This door system can be set up on inside doors as well as outside doors. 

Big Cat 4-Way Locking Inside-Outside Door by PetSafe

Here we have an adorable Tabby waiting to have her new collar and tags put on. Once she is setup with this awesome feline freedom system, off she goes to check the property for trespassing butterflies and other intruders.

• The system allows you to program up to 40 other pets with collar keys that are sold separately.
• Comes with weather stripping and magnetic sealing to keep out the weather.

    4-Way Locking Pet Door For Big Cats

Speaking of big cats, this picture shows a large feline coming in for a landing with the graceful carriage of a jumbo jet flying in to LAX.

I think what makes this appealing is the fact that a pet owner considers the comfort level of his or her cat when installing a door of this type.

• Large enough for small dogs to use as well.
• Made of rugged, durable plastic for long life.
• The manufacturer includes a template to use so you can cut the door opening to the proper dimensions.

   SureFlap  Microchip Pet Door        

 How lovely and cozy it is to relax and stretch out in your feline domain knowing that you are free to come and go as your whiskers please.

Although this one is installed in a patio door, it can be used in walls and regular doors.

• Operates as self-service to get out and scanner-dependent to come back in.

Do you own a chubby cat? Maybe you are having nightmares about coming home from work to find your precious chunky Charlie stuck half-in and half-out of the automatic door. Do these things have auto-retract features? 

Will the rescue squad come with the jaws of life to save my poor Charlie from hypothermia, starvation, and humiliation?

You have quite a dilemma on your hands. Perhaps you live somewhere where Charlie has to stay indoors no matter what.

If you have upgraded to a property that allows installation of cat doors, then it is just a matter of making sure Charlie can walk through safely.

A cat losing collar-connected access to a pet door is like a person when they lose their house keys. At the least, it can be an annoying inconvenience. At the most, a disaster for feline freedom and home security.

 Can I Purchase A Spare Microchip Tag ?

Many manufactures offer replacements for collars and tags. They need to be reprogrammed, but don't appear too difficult to do.

For many folks, a regular cat door is something that pet owners open and close thousands of times each week with their own hands. Each type of opener has its good and bad points.

The Types Of Cat Doors

1.  Human Operated- Involves an appendage that can turn a knob, slide a patio door, and have patience. Free to use.

2.  Cat Operated-A virtual hole-in-the-wall system that has a high approval rating with the M.C.A., or Mouse Chasers Anonymous.

3.  Microchip Cat Operated- The high-tech systems that connect pets, collars and programmed doors to open or close by reading a microchip.

 The Pros And Cons Of Human Operated Cat Doors

I call this the old-school method of giving your cat some door service. You actually have to get up and open it yourself. Your regal fur kid loves to be served, so having you as a personal door valet will satisfy his or her majesty. For a few minutes at least.

The Good About Human Operated Doors

• It's free. Free is nice.
• It makes you get up and use a few leg muscles. You might even burn a calorie or two.
• There is no need to be tool savvy or mechanically inclined.

The Bad About Human Operated Doors

• If your cat is like mine used to be, all day long it was meow to go out, meow to come in. Usually it was after 30 seconds had lapsed in between the out and the in, or vice versa.
• You hang out upstairs, the door that leads to the great outdoor feline fields is downstairs. You have thought about lowering a basket to your cat from your bedroom window.

The Pros And Cons Of Cat Operated Doors

For some pet families, solving the ins and outs of their fur baby's craving for fresh air and the great outdoors is as simple as installing a cat flap. These self-service openings can be as plain as a piece of vinyl hung in a frame, or can be like a mini-window that swings both ways.

The Good About Cat Flaps

• There is 100% pure freedom to come and go as he or she pleases.
• There is less guilt as a pet parent because your fur friend has more control over the travel schedule.
• The cat does all the work.

The  Bad About Cat Flaps

•  You might find a curious woodland creature has come in for a visit.This creature could be a cute Raccoon, a playful Opossum, a stinky Skunk, or a roving Rattlesnake.
• They may wreak havoc with the heat or air conditioning bill.
• The neighborhood Romeo cat  could find his way in to your girl kitty who is too young to date.

The Pros And Cons Of Microchip Operated Cat Doors

There are some wonderful, very effective microchip operated pet door systems on the market today. There are also some that both you and your pets should run from.

What Makes These Products Good

• They are designed to make life easier and more convenient for pets and their owners.
• They alleviate some of the guilt that people can feel when they have to work long hours away from home.
• They satisfy the need of cool gadget collectors and home improvement fans.

Exploring The Negative Side Of These Types Of Doors

• Some pets have been seriously injured by these products. Pets have been trapped and had parts of their tails permanently damaged or cut off.
• It takes a lot of contemplation to figure out if you want to cut a large opening in one of your doors.
• The cost can add up if you need to purchase special tools or adapters.

 _{Image Credits - 1. Cute Cat, Pixabay Free,  2. Cat Flap by Andrew Dunn, CC BY-SA 2.0}  

_{3. Gray Cat With Collar, https://pxhere.com/en/photo/666294, Free To Use}

Looking at these pros and cons can really make your head spin, can't it? If I had to choose between human-operated, cat-operated, or Microchip-operated, my first choice is human-operated. Why? I am a renter.

My second would be cat-operated because it might be more budget-friendly. However, if I owned my own home out in the country and had lots and lots of cats, I would have to try the microchip system so I could get a break from door service duties.

_{Image Credit- Beautiful Orange Cat by aall1, CC BY-SA 3.0}

_{Disclaimer-As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.}