Cat People Question

[nanci2539]

I have a panel on my slider that has a cat door in it - you can get these at any pet store or Home Depot/Lowes.

The issue I have is the waste of electricity (A/C and/or heat) that escapes not only through the cat flap but also where the panel abuts the slider. Even though we sealed it, energy still escapes.

I recently had an energy audit done through SECO and it was found that I am wasting a lot of electricity with this cat door. Cold goes to heat so you can imagine with this summer heat what my electirc bills were (I have all electric in my Lantana).

Other than leaving the door open which is worse; what other options do people do when their cats want in and out to the lanai? This may not be a problem during the day but it will be at night. My cats go in and out most of the night until they settle down. Sometimes they sleep in doors and sometimes out in the lanai. I also keep their litter box out there and have one in the garage. It's obvious that they use the one in the lanai more.

What do you do when your cats want in an out. Short of playing doorman, I don't know what to do, especially at night.

[chuckinca]

Don't have this issue - our cats sleep at the foot of the bed (and sometimes the 1 YO gets under the covers for a while)


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[islandgal]

nanci -

I have a cat flap on my kitchen door into the garage; however, my cat has outgrown it
and I have not replaced it so I leave the kitchen door slightly ajar. His box is in the garage.
I do leave my lanai door slightly cracked during the day when I am at home depending on the weather;
however, I close it at night or if I am not at home.

Do you think you could train your cats to stay indoors during the night and just have the one box in the garage?

Was interested to hear about the SECO energy audit - I will have to do that.
Good luck.

[nanci2539]

Island Girl

I have the same thing - cat flap to the garage. THey tend to use the litter box in the lanai more often - I have it in a large deck box with openings on the ends. I know my calico uses the garage box and maybe my torti does but the other two definately use the lanai. I don't think Millie and Jake ever went out to the garage.

I guess I can try but even leaving the door open a crack uses a lot of energy. I was taken back by the fact I use over $50 a month because of the cat panel not only from the set up but with the cats coming in and out.

They are pretty much on a routine - sleep all day, get up mid afternoon and roam around. Then they alternate between sleeping at night to going in and out of the lanai. One of them sleeps in our bed every night and one sleeps in a cat bed in the bedroom. The calico sleeps most times in the lanai but Jake, the largest cats roams around, back and forth. He's the Willie Nye of cats! He's very nervous but a big love bug.

The energy audit is free; you just need to call SECO to set up an app't. Takes about an hour.

[graciegirl]

Our TWO cats, Mikey, Harry and Hershey, go in and out to the lanai with the door cracked in the daytime UNLESS there is a big difference in temperature. Then they have to stay in, which is what they have to do at night.

[nanci2539]

I was told by SECO, even leaving the door open at night just a crack causes a problem with energy - and during the day it's worse. Maybe it's my home but the humidity finds its way in even if I leave the door slightly open.