Customer Reviews

Cat Mate Elite Selective Cat Door

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have had a racoon problem for years and years. I never tried the magnet type, but when I saw this RFID version, I had to try it. The door works great. The motor inside spooked my cat for a while, but now he goes through like a champ. Don't give up on the training, any cat should get this technique in about a week. It locks pretty quick after they go through. The racoons tried for a few days but then gave up and I have not seen any for weeks. I upgraded to the one with the display, and it tracks how many hours since the cat came in or out and also shows if the cat is in or out. I recommend this product..

I bought this door from another pet website. It worked fine for about six months, then the door began to stick. When I pushed the tag against the door, I had to push hard two or three times before the door would finally open. It happened often enough that my cat gave up on it. I called the manufacturer's (Animate) customer service number as instructed. They suggested replacing the batteries, but this did not resolve the problem. Then they said I would have to ship the door back to them (at my own expense) and they would try to repair it. If they could not repair it, then they would replace it. Meanwhile, I would have to find a way to block the gaping hole left where the door had been. I may still do this, but not in the middle of winter. I expected more for my $100 investment.

Purchased one with the added tunnel, installed it...the kitty loves it!
No problems to speak of. Kitty can come and go as she pleases.

After installing the door it won't work. I called for support and they said you have to get the disk within less than one inch from the door to trigger the release. That is a physiological impossibly. It would require that the cat take the disk with his paw and put it within one inch of the door. Unfortunately he has no thumbs. Can anyone help?

We bought this item because we had raccoon issues (in Brooklyn?). We figured that it would allow our cats to go in and out, and shut out the wild animals.

Firstly: It was way too complicated a process to program the machine to accept the RFID tags.

Secondly: Once I managed to get the thing to work, I noticed that it is programmed to go into "power-save mode" immediately after the cat tries to go through the door. If the cat doesn't figure it out on the first try, the cat has to wait a few minutes and try again. Unfortunately, cats don't learn as easily as we do. They have brains that are about the size of grapes. They keep trying, but the more they do, the quicker the pet door goes into "power-save mode" - forever. Look up Piaget and Psych 101.

Stupid, stupid programming design on this product. I am taking my first programming course right now, and I can do better than this with my basic knowledge and an Arduino. I will have to hack this piece of mediocre crap and make it work properly. Save yourself the trouble and the money on this one. These people don't deserve your cash.

To the makers of this product: Just make it work; if the cats approach the door and push on it, unlock it. There is no need to save power. We can replace batteries. You aren't doing anyone any favors. Keep it simple, stupids. Fail fail fail.

This door worked great for 5 months then started to not reset after our cat entered. There is a 3 year warranty but you need to send the unit back for repair or replacement. What does your cat do until you get the door back?

I purchased this door, (in white, from a different on-line vendor), last summer. Due to a protracted illness I didn't get it set up until 4 months later - too late to return it. Even with it set up per mounting instructions the disks still won't open the door unless I touch them to the door itself and sometimes this doesn't work either. I'm out over $100.00 and feeling even more ill than before.