Cat Mate Electromagnetic Cat Door

by Cat Mate

Product Features

• White electromagnetic cat door
• Includes two magnets
• Self lining to 2-3/8-inch
• Brush strip to reduce energy loss and silent action
• Complete instructions included

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.2 x 11.2 inches ; 1.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002DHN6Y
• Item model number: 254W
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,501 in Pet Supplies (See Top 100 in Pet Supplies)
  • #13 in Pet Supplies > Cats > Cat Flaps, Steps, Nets & Pens > Cat Flaps

Product Description

These proven products use a super compact collar magnet to guarantee instant entry for selected cats and to keep stray pets out. All models feature a 4 way Lock and are supplied with 2 collar magnets. Approximately 12-month operation from 1 - 9volt battery

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Does not require "key" going IN & OUT, April 30, 2006

By 

B. Gentry - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I just returned the one I purchased 3 weeks ago. The door works fine except if you have racoons, skunk or other intelligent creatures that want your pets food. The problem is your pet only needs a key to come IN but not go out--OUT is completely open. Racoons are smart enough to pull open the door from the outside since it is only locked swinging in. Alternatively, you could bend down and lock the door every night once your cat is inside but that defeats one of the main reasons for buying these doors. Therefore pay attention to what the mfg. says. This one said:
"4 settings: 2-way, entry only, exit only and locked "
Their concept of 2-way is key required to come in but no key required going out. I want one that requires a key in both directions so the other animals can't get in at all.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good door, better than the other magnetic options out there., April 2, 2010

By 

Amanda Robinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

I originally bought the Pet Safe Magnetic door (not this one) because I liked the idea of not needing batteries as this one did. 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 Pet Safe door open and had gained access to the off-limits food. I returned that door.

I think it really is a design flaw on the Pet Safe door 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 (the one described on this page), and a Cat Mate Super Selective microchip activated door. The magnetic Cat Mate door 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.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not bad for the price, but raccoons will get in, November 14, 2007

By 

Eric (SoCal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cat Mate Electromagnetic Cat Door (Misc.)

I've had this door for a little over 5 years now. It replaced a flap only door that was used with a sliding glass door insert (purchased at Home Depot, only had to slightly enlarge the hole to get it to fit) that was letting all the neighbors cats in too.

Overall it works as expected by keeping the neighbors cats out (one of them was quite hilarious, it laid on its side and was pounding on the door with its paws)... that is when its working correctly. First problem that arose after a while was the door wouldn't close all the way when my cat would come in, it would hit the latch and stop (its supposed to hit the latch and push it down) which would let the neighbors cats in again. I fixed that by using a small file to put a 45 deg angle on the door edge so it could pass over the latch easier, and also added some weights to the door.

It did keep the raccoons out, but only as long as they tried pushing the door to get in. They soon figured out they could put their claws underneath the door and pull it open (door only latches one way, the other way it freely opens). So if raccoons are a problem you'll need a different door that can latch both ways to keep them out. You could install 2 of these if you had the space, one for in, one for out, and set the 4 way switch so it can't open in the unlatched direction, but that'll be a trick to teach your cat which one to use when! I ended up having to move the door to another sliding glass door in the house.

The magnet does need to always point down to open the door, but I keep my cats collar fairly loose (can easily get 2 fingers in, and its an all elastic collar) so even if the collar spins around the weight of the magnet will rotate it so its facing down again when he is walking.

Battery life was a concern at first but hasn't been an issue at all, seems to last a very long time. I've never had one die but I still replace it every so often when I think about it.

I'm having to get spare parts now, the edge of the door broke where the latch is located so it effectively became a cat flap again. I was wondering why my cats food was disappearing so fast!

Overall I would recommend it if all you have it a flap only door now, but unless they have changed their design since I bought mine you will need to tweak it to get it to work right. And definitely don't expect it to keep raccoons out, at least not for long.

Update: Reliability of the electronic portion of this door is poor. The coil on it fails for some reason. The first coil lasted for years, but two of the replacement coils I installed since didn't even last a year. The company doesn't warranty replacement parts either. So now it leaves me wondering when it will leave my cat stranded outside again. I lowered my rating from 3 to 2 because of this.