Customer Reviews

Ideal Pet Products Sash Chubby Kat Medium Pet Door, 27 to 32-Inch

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Installation was super easy. We have six cats, and we wanted to give them access to the outdoor patio. It took them 2 to 3 days to feel comfortable with the unit, but once we knew all 6 cats understood the process, we moved their litter boxes to the patio. Now, the cats have an outdoor place to play, and our house is free of litter box odors. The unit has a magnetic latch that keeps the window from flapping open, and even my most timid cat doesn't have a problem pushing it open with her head. We bought the "chubby cat flap" because one of our cats is 22+ lbs. Even he doesn't have a problem getting in and out of the window. The only thing I might suggest to anyone looking to buy one of these units is also buying the extension outdoor landing. We didn't buy one because our window is close to the ground, but even then the cats really didn't like the vertical drop, so we have added a small step outside of the window. If you have a tall window, your cat will really appreciate the added ledge on the outside.

Our two indoor/outdoor cats use this door exclusively to leave and enter our house through a front window. It was quick to install (ten minutes including the locking mechanism). It is well designed and keeps the cold out and the warmth in. You can control your cats entry and exits so on days when our cats had a vet appointment I set the door to enter only and didn't have to scour the neighborhood for them.

I would recommend this to others looking for a convenient method of allowing cats to come and go as they please.

Pros: Easy to install right out of the box, easily adustable to fir many window widths. Looks good in the window. Cats use it. Even my twenty pound cat can get in and out with ease. He would never fit through a smaller door.
Cons: very very drafty, lets in quite a chill breeze. Flap tends to stay open (does not lock into place properly once the cat is through, 9 times out of ten). The flap has a bristly fringe around the edge that does little to keep out the breeze. A rubber edging would have been better. If it's the least bit windy, the flap blows right open, and stays that way. The magnetic closure is pretty pitiful. Cold air also seeps in between the sash window and insert, despite the inclusion of weather stripping with the kit, and along the edges of the windows in the actual insert. The insert is metal, so conducts cold air right into the house.
Advise: If you can afford it, buy the more expensive, insulated inserts that are rated for "extreme weather". They are about $300 but I bet they are less drafty. What we did with our window is place weatherizing plastic film over the whole thing (the kind you place on drafty windows and then blow-dry to shrink it into place), which helps a lot with the cold air leaks around the window and insert, and window panels in the insert. There is no solution for the drafty flap that won't close, though, that we have found. Would probably have been cheaper and just as effective to just make an insert out of plywood and insert a regular $15 cat flap in it, but this was quick and looks good. Overall, I think it is a $65 product, not a $125 product.

We ordered this product because we wanted to let the cats in and out without having to put a hole in our door. This turned out to be a great option. We have one 15 pound cat, so we got the "chubbykat" version, and there is plenty of space for him or a much larger cat to get out. In fact, I have seen him and my other cat squeeze through together with no problem. The product was easy to install and fits easily in the window. It's also easy to remove. The one issue we had is that the latch can stick a little.

We purchased this pet door for our two small dogs (a 9 lb miniature daschund and a 15 lb rat terrier) to be able to get out to relieve themselves while they are in the house all day. The instalation was very easy and I was surprised at how well it held out the winter cold and weather once it was installed. We haven't attempted to install it where you can still bolt the window so I'm not sure how well that works. We actually have a dog kennel that backs up to our window so the dogs can only go into the kennel when they're outside and it limits them from having free reign of the entire back yard. This pet door was actually meant for cats, but neither of our cats will use it.

I have a multi-cat indoor family. We put up a "cat fence" on top of our existing fence so the cats can go outside. Your cat window door works well and we didn't have to make a perminent opening in our door or wall We intended to close it at night, but once the cats learned how to use the door, they were having none of that. I'd close and carefully lock it and the next morning it would be dialed to "out only" and the cats would be outside. The 1st morning only one cat, the cat we've had the longest(Sinatra) a Snowshoe Siamese mix, was outside and of course couldn't get back in. That was easy to figure out Sinatra knew how to move the lock until he could open the door. The following evening I'd closed and locked the door and was sitting quietly in the den and heard a noise and looked over at the window. This time it was Purrky another Siamese mix. He just opened it and out he went, right before my eyes! I had placed the lock on "In only" so that they would have to push the lock switch past 2 places to get to a setting in which they could get out. It goes without saying that the cats love the door and it works well and looks great. Our Siamese cats are just too smart. We solved the problem by making a solid slide cover out of plexie glass to go across the door. It fits perfectly under the adjustment knobs on the window. We all just love our door and I now only place the slide cover on when the weather is extreme outside, because it upsets Purrky so much he worries and worries trying to figure a way to ger our past it.

It works great in the window. The complaint I have is that the door is not very weather proof and blows open easily with a brisk wind. Also there are lots of times that it does not swing all the way shut either. So the design of the whole thing is good, but the quality of the pet door itself is lacking. I will be replacing the pet door with a more weather proof one.

This is a very well made product that is easy to install. The flap does a good job of sealing while still being easy for our cats to open. Our bright cat learned to use it in a matter of hours, the not-so-bright cat needed about three days but is now good to go. Initially, we used a string to keep the swinging door slightly cracked so the cats could use their paws and noses to get through and learn that the door would open for them. Overall, we are very pleased. Five stars for sure.

the flap is very heaveywieght and my cats could not push it.
had to replace with my own homemade flap.
Unless you have a 50 lb cat, do not buy..

I bought this last year around this time for 2 kittens I just got. I wanted them to be able to get to the Florida Room where their litter boxes are. It took them like 5 mins to learn to jump to the window and go thru the door. Works perfect!!! Now I don't have to have the litter boxes in the house and I don't have to a/c the Florida Room!!!