I currently have a normal 4-way cat flap at the moment but recently another cat has been coming into my house, eating my cat's food and terrifying my cat who is now a nervous wreck.

My cat loves going out so I don't want to have to lock the cat flap completely. Sometimes I have resorted to locking it completely and keeping my cat in to see if the other cat will stop but it keeps coming back. And I also don't wish to lock my cat out either.

So I've been thinking about buying a magnetic one or an infra-red one. Please can anyone give me any advice about which is best to buy? And which make? (e.g. Staywell, Cat Mate, Other?). Thank you!

THey're great.

It's fun seeing a cat hurtle through a cat flap at speed to be followed by an intruder headbutting the same flat moments later(makes a great video).

You can also get one these days that picks up the signal from the RFID microchip in chipped pets and opens appropriately.

THe infra red / microchip ones are more accurate than the magnetic.

WORD OF WARNING... cat and dog flaps are great for burglars wanting access. It is imperative that keys are not stored within site of the flap, enterprising thieves armed with fishing tackle can easily work through a cat flap to retrieve them.

I don't know how the IR or microchip ones work but the magnetic ones have a strip around the outside of the flap...

It depends on your cat, but after one of mine finally realised she had to go head first, and that pawing it didn't work, she broke the magnetic strip off of the rim, hence we ended up with our third (sadly temporary) cat!

Depends on your cat- oh and if you own a daft dobe like mine, you'll find yourself replacing the cat flap on a regular basis, as Ailsa had the habit of barking at the milkman, the postman and anyone else who ventured into our backyard, through ours. Dont use one now though. With a multi-cat household, we had to buy lotsof spare magnets for their collars as there are never enough in the pack and ours kept losing them too. Its a giggle watching your cats try to eat from stainless steel food dishes when they're wearing one...
And we also had problems with the postman shoving parcels through ours- had ot replace it a few times due to that too.

Thanks for the info.

This may be a silly question, but if another cat also has a magnet on their collar I presume they would still be able to come through a magnetic cat flap?

Does the same apply with the infra red ones? So if another cat has a infra red thingy then they can come through any infra red cat flap? How do the infra red ones work?! Do they have a little infra red light on a thing on the cat's collar that has to shine on the cat flap or something?!

My cat is microchipped so I like the sound of the microchip ones. But I bet they are quite expensive? I'll do some investigating on the net...

RFID one here http://www.petporte.com/buy3.htm

Magnetic ones can be beaten by a clever cat without a collar or by a cat with a similar magnet (the magnets are supposed to be keyed in some way but this does not work well).

The IR and RFID ones are very selective.

I have a IR one and it works on a key that attaches to the collar!

there is 4 different coloured keys - so if a cat near you has the same colour key on, it will get in!

If you have staywell and find you have another cat near by with same colour, they will send you a replacement!

We also found that the keys can sometimes run the batteries down in them when they are wet. Staywell are great as they offer 5 years parts for free - we have gone through a few keys to be honest, we bought a spare on and now if one breaks, it goes back to staywell for free and is replaced!

Hi whilst your onthe subject can any one help

we were thinking of getting either magnetic or IR catflap so our big cat can still have it's freedom whilst us being able to keep the lil 12 week one in, but i'm now thinking these catflaps migt only be effective from the outside in not inside to out...can anyone clear this up for me ;o)

Although expensive, the microchip ones look great. I am always wary of he magnet ones and have had a few over the years that have broken or the cats have lost the collars/magnets (which I worry about if they were being chased by a dog and couldnt get in.) :o

This wouldnt be a problem with the microchip ones.

Hi whilst your onthe subject can any one help

we were thinking of getting either magnetic or IR catflap so our big cat can still have it's freedom whilst us being able to keep the lil 12 week one in, but i'm now thinking these catflaps migt only be effective from the outside in not inside to out...can anyone clear this up for me ;o)

Not sure what they're like now but yes, we made that mistake - bought a staywell magnetic one that cost the earth, plus spare magnets in case they lost them - which was fine when we had the old moggies that all went in n out- but then we got our first pedigree who was not allowed out and we realised the catflap only prevents cats coming IN, it does not prevent your cats that are not wearing a magnet catch from getting OUT... We had to keep the pedigrees away from the kitchen where the catflap was installed. When the last of our oldies died that year, we fastened the catflap up for good.

Not sure what they're like now but yes, we made that mistake - bought a staywell magnetic one that cost the earth, plus spare magnets in case they lost them - which was fine when we had the old moggies that all went in n out- but then we got our first pedigree who was not allowed out and we realised the catflap only prevents cats coming IN, it does not prevent your cats that are not wearing a magnet catch from getting OUT... We had to keep the pedigrees away from the kitchen where the catflap was installed. When the last of our oldies died that year, we fastened the catflap up for good.

It is a design flaw, not allowing controlled access both ways.

We cannot use a cat flap cos our dog can fit through and she cannot have uncontrolled access to the postman.

It is a design flaw, not allowing controlled access both ways.

We cannot use a cat flap cos our dog can fit through and she cannot have uncontrolled access to the postman.

we had that problem too- Ailsa often ended up wearing a catflap round her neck- gave the milkman no end of a fright!

The issue is now further complicated by my cat being allergic to 3 different types of collar that I've tried on him :( The vet has told me not to bother with trying anymore collars on him.

So it looks like I might have to opt for the microchip cat flap although they're not cheap! Thanks for the link heavenlyarts.