Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in 'guillotine'
panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes about sharpened edge,
baited with tuna etc).

I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But I need
some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something like 10-20mm wide at
the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and able to accept a 3-4mm board
sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would be adequate, sturdy plastic or
aluminium would be ideal.

I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to hold the
hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably some way to scavenge
or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking, alloy channel for fixing
greehouse glass or summink?

Ideas very welcome...!

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:32:22 +0000, Steve Walker wrote:

Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in
'guillotine' panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes about
sharpened edge, baited with tuna etc).

I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But I
need some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something like 10-20mm
wide at the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and able to accept a
3-4mm board sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would be adequate, sturdy
plastic or aluminium would be ideal.

I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to hold
the hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably some way to
scavenge or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking, alloy channel for
fixing greehouse glass or summink?


Got a router or tablesaw? Or at a pinch (and if you dont value your
fingers) a circular saw?

If so, make a 20mm square U shape from any bits of wood and put a groove
down it using whatever tool does it best for you. A 'normal' circular/
tablesaw blade will give you a 4mm slot, more if you set the blade
slightly off centre and rip it both ways round.

Or, thinking creatively, let the bloody cat out. It'll come back when
it's hungry.

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:32:22 -0000, "Steve Walker"
wrote:

Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in 'guillotine'
panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes about sharpened edge,
baited with tuna etc).

I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But I need
some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something like 10-20mm wide at
the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and able to accept a 3-4mm board
sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would be adequate, sturdy plastic or
aluminium would be ideal.

I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to hold the
hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably some way to scavenge
or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking, alloy channel for fixing
greehouse glass or summink?

Ideas very welcome...!






Dunno about J shaped channel but you can certainly get U shaped
channel .Would that not do .Glue it on to whatever is behind and cut
the board to fit it .. You can get these mouldings in Sheds in those
containers that they have near the timber area . Richard Burbridge
does them as well I think .
OR
Get a new cat flap .One that locks .

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Steve Walker wrote:

Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in
'guillotine' panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes
about sharpened edge, baited with tuna etc).

I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But
I need some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something like
10-20mm wide at the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and able to
accept a 3-4mm board sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would be
adequate, sturdy plastic or aluminium would be ideal.

I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to
hold the hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably some
way to scavenge or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking, alloy
channel for fixing greehouse glass or summink?

Ideas very welcome...!

I don't know about J section, but you should be able to get some U section
aluminium extrusion from a metal stockist. Assuming you want to screw it to
the door, you can drill some holes in the front face of the channel big
enough to get the end of a screwdriver through.

Alternatively, could you not just put a simple bar across, near the bottom,
to stop the flap opening? This could be pivoted one end so as to swing out
of the way when necessary, with the other end pushed into a simple bracket
when you want to keep the flap shut - or maybe two, a parking bracket and an
operating bracket.

Alternatively yet again, doing a quick Google for 'cat flap' suggests that
there are locking cat flaps - which may fit the bill - and those which only
respond to *your* cat by reacting to a magnetic gizmo on its collar. So,
presumably, if you remove the collar, the flap won't open when the cat
approaches.

Now I've run out of creative ideas - sorry! g
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

PCPaul wrote:

Got a router or tablesaw? Or at a pinch (and if you dont value your
fingers) a circular saw?

If so, make a 20mm square U shape from any bits of wood and put a
groove down it using whatever tool does it best for you. A 'normal'
circular/ tablesaw blade will give you a 4mm slot, more if you set
the blade slightly off centre and rip it both ways round.

Thanks Paul - I could also make some channels by sandwiching 3 layers of
thin material, clamped & glued etc, or by routing a length of planed timber
to a thick L shape, but I'm still holding out for an off-the-shelf bodge
solution (or a graceful serendipity if you prefer).

Or, thinking creatively, let the bloody cat out. It'll come back when
it's hungry.

Yeah, we tried that - the vet's bills are eye-watering though. Damned
thing staggers home after 3-4 days with half it's fur left and limbs hanging
off, but then seems keen to go out and do it again as soon as the bandages
are off....

"Steve Walker" wrote in message
...
Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in 'guillotine'
panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes about sharpened edge,
baited with tuna etc).

I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But I
need some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something like 10-20mm
wide at the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and able to accept a 3-4mm
board sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would be adequate, sturdy plastic
or aluminium would be ideal.

I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to hold
the hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably some way to
scavenge or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking, alloy channel for
fixing greehouse glass or summink?

Ideas very welcome...!

My neighbour's cat has three homes, it's own, mine and another neighbour -
depending on what mood it is in and what you feed it. It has a collar with
a magnet so when it goes near the catflap it will open to allow it in to
next door's house. Once inside it can't get out unless the catflap is
switched to allow this. The catflap can be set for incoming, outgoing or
both. It usually sits at the back or front door here and will come in if
the door is open. If it's cold out it will sit on the window ledge ! For
your catflap you need to glue some very small trunking around the edge
inside. Then slide a piece of plastic or wood down in to it. Arrange it
like a squared U shape. Don't forget the litter tray by the door as the cat
might have a reason for going out.
I wouldn't bother about it staying out, they all come home when they're
hungry or cold, cats are very intelligent. Far brighter than dogs.

Stuart B wrote:
On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:32:22 -0000, "Steve Walker"
wrote:

Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in 'guillotine'
panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes about sharpened edge,
baited with tuna etc).

I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But I need
some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something like 10-20mm wide at
the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and able to accept a 3-4mm board
sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would be adequate, sturdy plastic or
aluminium would be ideal.

I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to hold the
hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably some way to scavenge
or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking, alloy channel for fixing
greehouse glass or summink?

Get a new cat flap .One that locks .

Yeah, we had one of those - cat just ripped it to bits: quite
spectacular, really.

I fitted a similar slide-in guillotine; actually I just used a few
screws around the perimeter, with the heads left proud to act as the
retaining lugs - intention was to find and fit proper guides, but never
got round to it, and it worked fine.

Mind you, ultimately the 'guillotine' also needed to be fitted with a
removable peg through a hole, as the little (not so little TBH) bugger
worked out how to slide it up...

David

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:04:26 UTC, "Roger Mills"
wrote:

Alternatively, could you not just put a simple bar across, near the bottom,
to stop the flap opening? This could be pivoted one end so as to swing out
of the way when necessary, with the other end pushed into a simple bracket
when you want to keep the flap shut - or maybe two, a parking bracket and an
operating bracket.

Our cat would have taken the hinges out in that situation.

Alternatively yet again, doing a quick Google for 'cat flap' suggests that
there are locking cat flaps - which may fit the bill

I suspect he's already tried those.

- and those which only
respond to *your* cat by reacting to a magnetic gizmo on its collar. So,
presumably, if you remove the collar, the flap won't open when the cat
approaches.

Yes, but they generally only lock in the 'inward' direction. We thought
of something like that but it didn't work for that reason (we were
trying to keep one cat in but allow the other to go out).

Amazing that no-one has yet produced a cat flap that reads the cat's
RFID chip, instead of the heavy magnets.

I wonder about a simple flap, same size as the cat flap, hinged
horizontally about the flap. Two turn buttons or similar, one to hold it
up out of the way, and one (perhaps a bit more complex since cats can be
very dextrous) holding it shut over the cat flap.
--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Bob Eager wrote:


Amazing that no-one has yet produced a cat flap that reads the cat's
RFID chip, instead of the heavy magnets.


My Google search found one or two which appear to do this - but I didn't
suggest it to the OP 'cos such a device would be difficult to selectively
disable - whereas something on the collar . .
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:04:26 +0000, Roger Mills wrote:

Alternatively yet again, doing a quick Google for 'cat flap' suggests
that there are locking cat flaps - which may fit the bill - and those
which only respond to *your* cat by reacting to a magnetic gizmo on its
collar. So, presumably, if you remove the collar, the flap won't open
when the cat approaches.


You have to watch the magnetic ones... I'm reposting this story here as
the content of the site may be a little strong for the weaker-spirited
amongst you dear readers ;-) (cue a rush to read the rest of the site...)

The original is at http://b3ta.com/questions/animalcruelty/

==================
This story concerns two friends of my parents; Nick and Jill.

Nick is a good humoured guy of great patience. Jill is extremely
houseproud and tends to get uptight about things like interior
decoration. They live in a large Victorian sandstone house that they have
renovated over the last two decades.

They had a cat called Bimbo. Bimbo was a lovely cat; a ginger female that
had been brought up with their two children, and had never posed any
problems.

Then they redid their kitchen. Black tiles; granite surfaces; anything
that could be lifted had to be chrome. To accommodate Bimbo, they
installed a catflap that was activated by a magnet on her collar. The
whole thing looked fantastic- like something out of a catalogue. They
were understandably chuffed with their efforts.

The cat, on the other hand, seemed less than pleased. They would put food
in her bowl and come back to find it spread across the tiles. It happened
every time they fed her- she would seemingly shun her food and throw it
across the kitchen, covering the cupboards and floors.

Jill was not pleased. Her new kitchen was being violated several times a
week. She became convinced that Bimbo was succumbing to old age- she was
around 16 at this point- and started to talk about having her put down.
Nick convinced her not to act so rashly; they could train the cat out of
her behaviour.

Around a week later (with no change in moggy behaviour) they were sitting
in their living room. The door was open.

Nick spotted a ginger blur.

"Jesus, I've just seen the cat run by with its bowl under its chin!"

Jill was understandably skeptical, but followed him out to the hall.
There they found Bimbo and her beautiful chrome bowl surrounded by cat
food.

Nick picked her up with one hand, and picked up her bowl in the other. He
spoke to her in the exasperated tone familiar to anyone who has ever
tried to train a cat.

"Why do you keep doing this?" he said, waving the bowl close to the cat's
face. "You're making such a mes..."

At that point the chrome bowl pulled itself to the catflap magnet on
Bimbo's collar. The cat let out a helpless 'miaow'.

The poor thing had been starving over the previous fortnight- every time
she'd tried to eat, her bowl had stuck to her collar and she'd panicked.

Bimbo lived to around 19 and died of natural causes. She ate the rest of
her meals from a ceramic bowl.
==================

In uk.d-i-y, Steve Walker wrote:
Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape.
[...]
Ideas very welcome...!

Pawcuffs.

--
Mike Barnes

john wrote:
"Steve Walker" wrote in message
...
Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in
'guillotine' panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes
about sharpened edge, baited with tuna etc).

I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But I
need some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something
like 10-20mm wide at the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and
able to accept a 3-4mm board sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would
be adequate, sturdy plastic or aluminium would be ideal.

I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to
hold the hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably
some way to scavenge or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking,
alloy channel for fixing greehouse glass or summink?

Ideas very welcome...!

My neighbour's cat has three homes, it's own, mine and another
neighbour - depending on what mood it is in and what you feed it. It
has a collar with a magnet so when it goes near the catflap it will
open to allow it in to next door's house. Once inside it can't get
out unless the catflap is switched to allow this. The catflap can be
set for incoming, outgoing or both. It usually sits at the back or
front door here and will come in if the door is open. If it's cold
out it will sit on the window ledge ! For your catflap you need to
glue some very small trunking around the edge inside. Then slide a
piece of plastic or wood down in to it. Arrange it like a squared U
shape. Don't forget the litter tray by the door as the cat might
have a reason for going out. I wouldn't bother about it staying out, they
all come home when
they're hungry or cold, cats are very intelligent. Far brighter than
dogs.

Dogs have owners - cats have staff.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

john wrote:

I wouldn't bother about it staying out, they all come home when they're
hungry or cold, cats are very intelligent. Far brighter than dogs.


Who come home when they have had a shag, or given up trying.

In article ,
"Steve Walker" wrote:

Damned
thing staggers home after 3-4 days with half it's fur left and limbs hanging
off, but then seems keen to go out and do it again as soon as the bandages
are off....

Tell me about it. I have the same problem with the wife.

Three suggestions:

1. Your local shop-fitters.

2. Your local plastics warehouse. If you've never been to one, you'd
be surprised what weird **** they keep in stock. They also usually have
a scraps bin that they're happy for you to plunder so, for the quantity
you need, you might get something free that you can adapt.

3. MFI or Ikea. Scrounge around the bargain corner - there might be
bits and pieces kicking around. Do Ikea have spares at customer
services? Ask at MFI. There might just be a bit kicking round from an
ex-display.

In article ,
mike wrote:

Do Ikea have spares at customer services?

Yeah. They're called "staff".

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:32:22 -0000, Steve Walker wrote:

Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in 'guillotine'
panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes about sharpened edge,
baited with tuna etc).

Nah, the simplest solution is to get a different style cat flap. The
Staywell series 700 have a slide-down barrier and cost less than £10 from
various on-line suppliers. At that sort of money, a DIY solution just ain't
worth the hastle.

The 900 series have 4 way locking: fully closed, out-but-not-in,
in-but-not-out, and fully open. We have five cats and only the three-legged
one has worked out how to open the flap to get out when it's set to
in-but-not-out - she hooks a claw into the edge of the magnetic strip and
lifts the flap until she can get her head under it, then she's gone!

--
the dot wanderer at tesco dot net

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:01:11 UTC, The Wanderer wrote:

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:32:22 -0000, Steve Walker wrote:

Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in 'guillotine'
panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes about sharpened edge,
baited with tuna etc).

Nah, the simplest solution is to get a different style cat flap. The
Staywell series 700 have a slide-down barrier and cost less than £10 from
various on-line suppliers. At that sort of money, a DIY solution just ain't
worth the hastle.

The 900 series have 4 way locking: fully closed, out-but-not-in,
in-but-not-out, and fully open. We have five cats and only the three-legged
one has worked out how to open the flap to get out when it's set to
in-but-not-out - she hooks a claw into the edge of the magnetic strip and
lifts the flap until she can get her head under it, then she's gone!

How naive! :-)

When our cat wanted to get out in a hurry, and the flap was locked....he
just went straight through it. I think the OP is saying much the same
thing.

Incidentally, I'd recommend Pet Mate. They actually supply spares -
sometimes FOC, but always very fast.

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

In article ,
"Bob Eager" writes:

Amazing that no-one has yet produced a cat flap that reads the cat's
RFID chip, instead of the heavy magnets.

They have. One of my staff at a former job fitted one.
I think he had to import it. It reads the standard RFID
tags fitted to pets by the vets. You can program several
in (he has two cats).

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

In article ,
PCPaul writes:
On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:04:26 +0000, Roger Mills wrote:

Alternatively yet again, doing a quick Google for 'cat flap' suggests
that there are locking cat flaps - which may fit the bill - and those
which only respond to *your* cat by reacting to a magnetic gizmo on its
collar. So, presumably, if you remove the collar, the flap won't open
when the cat approaches.

You have to watch the magnetic ones... I'm reposting this story here as
the content of the site may be a little strong for the weaker-spirited
amongst you dear readers ;-) (cue a rush to read the rest of the site...)

The original is at http://b3ta.com/questions/animalcruelty/

Long before these existed commercially, I tried to make one with
a magnet and reed switch. Got to the point where it worked quite
well on the bench, so I fitted the magnet to the collar. Next
time the cat came in, there was a trail of rusty old ironmongary
trailing from her collar. I gave up on the idea.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:47:35 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Stuart B wrote:
On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:32:22 -0000, "Steve Walker"
wrote:

Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in 'guillotine'
panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes about sharpened edge,
baited with tuna etc).

I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But I need
some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something like 10-20mm wide at
the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and able to accept a 3-4mm board
sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would be adequate, sturdy plastic or
aluminium would be ideal.

I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to hold the
hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably some way to scavenge
or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking, alloy channel for fixing
greehouse glass or summink?

Get a new cat flap .One that locks .

Yeah, we had one of those - cat just ripped it to bits: quite
spectacular, really.

I fitted a similar slide-in guillotine; actually I just used a few
screws around the perimeter, with the heads left proud to act as the
retaining lugs - intention was to find and fit proper guides, but never
got round to it, and it worked fine.


We've got two cat flaps - outer one "locks" - yeah right that's why we
have a third cat now. It has a magnet in but a very determined cat
after 3 months learnt how to open it.

The inner one is a guiloteen closing one.
At the last house a cat ate and mangled the guiloteen bit and ruined
it. This one has lasted longer mainly because we've only used it for
short periods.



Mind you, ultimately the 'guillotine' also needed to be fitted with a
removable peg through a hole, as the little (not so little TBH) bugger
worked out how to slide it up...

David

--
http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk

On 2008-01-20 08:41:21 +0000, james said:

In article ,
mike wrote:

Do Ikea have spares at customer services?

Yeah. They're called "staff".

Sure?

A lot of retailers call them "associates"; rather like call centres
call their staff "advisors".

PC ******** for shop assistant and operator.

On 2008-01-20 10:12:03 +0000, (Andrew
Gabriel) said:

In article ,
"Bob Eager" writes:

Amazing that no-one has yet produced a cat flap that reads the cat's
RFID chip, instead of the heavy magnets.

They have. One of my staff at a former job fitted one.
I think he had to import it. It reads the standard RFID
tags fitted to pets by the vets. You can program several
in (he has two cats).

That's useful to know. I was unaware that the vet ones used RFID.
Cat Mate, and a couple of others have RFID cat flaps. However, they
require the use of a tag attached to the pussycat, which is about as
much use as a chocolate teapot because they will lose them within a
day; and collars on cats aren't a great idea anyway.

I did just spot one called Pet Porte which uses the cat's implanted
chip, which seems to be a rather better idea, and besides, it's
somewhat pointless not to have a cat microchipped.

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2008-01-20 08:41:21 +0000, james said:

In article ,
mike wrote:

Do Ikea have spares at customer services?

Yeah. They're called "staff".

Sure?

A lot of retailers call them "associates"; rather like call centres call
their staff "advisors".

Years ago IIRC all John Lewis staff were always called 'partners' -
don't know if that's still the case. (Think they were all shareholders
in the business?)

David

In message , Steve Walker
writes
Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in 'guillotine'
panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes about sharpened edge,
baited with tuna etc).

I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But I need
some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something like 10-20mm wide at
the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and able to accept a 3-4mm board
sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would be adequate, sturdy plastic or
aluminium would be ideal.

I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to hold the
hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably some way to scavenge
or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking, alloy channel for fixing
greehouse glass or summink?

Ideas very welcome...!



Make sure it's securely attached to the door, whatever form it takes.

A neighbour decided that one of her cats was eating too much, taking the
food from the other cats' bowls, so she put it on reduced rations and
fed apart from the others. Cat goes out one day, returns fat and
well-fed with the remains of a cat flap around it, followed by irate
owner of said device demanding what she was going to do about it. Some
people have no sense of humour.
--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!

"Andy Hall" wrote in message news:4793337f@qaanaaq...
On 2008-01-20 10:12:03 +0000, (Andrew Gabriel)
said:

In article ,
"Bob Eager" writes:

Amazing that no-one has yet produced a cat flap that reads the cat's
RFID chip, instead of the heavy magnets.

They have. One of my staff at a former job fitted one.
I think he had to import it. It reads the standard RFID
tags fitted to pets by the vets. You can program several
in (he has two cats).

That's useful to know. I was unaware that the vet ones used RFID.
Cat Mate, and a couple of others have RFID cat flaps. However, they
require the use of a tag attached to the pussycat, which is about as much
use as a chocolate teapot because they will lose them within a day; and
collars on cats aren't a great idea anyway.

The chips referred to are injected under the cat's skin and used to identify
cats found as strays. Unfortunately, they do tend to migrate around the cat,
so are not always easy to locate.

Colin Bignell

Stuart B wrote:
On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:32:22 -0000, "Steve Walker"
wrote:

Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape.


Dunno about J shaped channel but you can certainly get U shaped
channel .Would that not do .Glue it on to whatever is behind and cut
the board to fit it .. You can get these mouldings in Sheds in those
containers that they have near the timber area . Richard Burbridge
does them as well I think .

Yeah, that would work - thanks Stuart


OR
Get a new cat flap .One that locks .

It does, but the cat simply breaks it open like a dawn raid by the
Sweeney...

Bob Eager wrote:
On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:04:26 UTC, "Roger Mills"
wrote:

Alternatively, could you not just put a simple bar across, near the
bottom, to stop the flap opening? This could be pivoted one end so
as to swing out of the way when necessary, with the other end pushed
into a simple bracket when you want to keep the flap shut - or maybe
two, a parking bracket and an operating bracket.

Our cat would have taken the hinges out in that situation.

Alternatively yet again, doing a quick Google for 'cat flap'
suggests that there are locking cat flaps - which may fit the bill

I suspect he's already tried those.

Yup - as suggested by Bob, the little rat breaks through...

I wonder about a simple flap, same size as the cat flap, hinged
horizontally about the flap. Two turn buttons or similar, one to hold
it up out of the way, and one (perhaps a bit more complex since cats
can be very dextrous) holding it shut over the cat flap.

Yeah, that's the final solution - a hinged 12" x 12" door which closes over
the whole area and latches with a metal fitting. Trouble is, SWMBO doesn't
want that hanging off the inside of the door, so trying for more discreet
options first.

Thanks both!

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
PCPaul writes:
On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:04:26 +0000, Roger Mills wrote:

Alternatively yet again, doing a quick Google for 'cat flap'
suggests that there are locking cat flaps - which may fit the bill
- and those which only respond to *your* cat by reacting to a
magnetic gizmo on its collar. So, presumably, if you remove the
collar, the flap won't open when the cat approaches.

You have to watch the magnetic ones... I'm reposting this story here
as the content of the site may be a little strong for the
weaker-spirited amongst you dear readers ;-) (cue a rush to read the
rest of the site...)

The original is at http://b3ta.com/questions/animalcruelty/

Long before these existed commercially, I tried to make one with
a magnet and reed switch. Got to the point where it worked quite
well on the bench, so I fitted the magnet to the collar. Next
time the cat came in, there was a trail of rusty old ironmongary
trailing from her collar. I gave up on the idea.

I have a mental picture of a lawnmower, and several plate-sized cogs....
)

john wrote:
"Steve Walker" wrote in message
...
Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in
'guillotine' panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes
about sharpened edge, baited with tuna etc).

I have various types of stout thin board, that's not a problem. But I
need some J-Channel to slide it in and out of. Something
like 10-20mm wide at the back, and 5-10mm wide at the front, and
able to accept a 3-4mm board sliding in. Two lengths of 250mm would
be adequate, sturdy plastic or aluminium would be ideal.

I've seen similar stuff on the back of self assembly furniture, to
hold the hardboard back on. Common-sense says there's probably
some way to scavenge or convert it - cut-down electrical trunking,
alloy channel for fixing greehouse glass or summink?

Ideas very welcome...!

For your catflap you need to
glue some very small trunking around the edge inside. Then slide a
piece of plastic or wood down in to it. Arrange it like a squared U
shape.

That's right John, that's exactly what I want to do.

Mike Barnes wrote:
In uk.d-i-y, Steve Walker wrote:
Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape.
[...]
Ideas very welcome...!

Pawcuffs.

mmmm - or a big iron ball on a chain

Steve Walker wrote:

Get a new cat flap .One that locks .

It does, but the cat simply breaks it open like a dawn raid by the
Sweeney...

Judging by the number of cats in this thread who are perfectly capable
of reducing a catflap to scrap plastic in a matter of minutes (and I
thought it was just ours!) I do wonder why some manufacturer hasn't come
up with a decent 'heavy duty' model, "for the more assertive pet..."

David

The Wanderer wrote:
On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:32:22 -0000, Steve Walker wrote:

Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in
'guillotine' panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes
about sharpened edge, baited with tuna etc).

Nah, the simplest solution is to get a different style cat flap. The
Staywell series 700 have a slide-down barrier and cost less than £10
from various on-line suppliers. At that sort of money, a DIY solution
just ain't worth the hastle.

Yes, we used to have one like that - didn't realise they were still making
them, but it solves the problem.

Brilliant - I declare this a victory for the hivemind, and thank all for
their comments!

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:11:54 UTC, Lobster
wrote:

Steve Walker wrote:

Get a new cat flap .One that locks .

It does, but the cat simply breaks it open like a dawn raid by the
Sweeney...

Judging by the number of cats in this thread who are perfectly capable
of reducing a catflap to scrap plastic in a matter of minutes (and I
thought it was just ours!) I do wonder why some manufacturer hasn't come
up with a decent 'heavy duty' model, "for the more assertive pet..."

The one our cat destroyed was actually a dog flap. It had to be...to get
the size.

18lb Maine Coon...

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

Steve Walker wrote:
The Wanderer wrote:
On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:32:22 -0000, Steve Walker wrote:

Greetings -

Because our cat won't take no for an answer, we need to reinforce the
catflap against escape. The simplest solution is a slide in
'guillotine' panel which covers the whole assembly (insert jokes
about sharpened edge, baited with tuna etc).
Nah, the simplest solution is to get a different style cat flap. The
Staywell series 700 have a slide-down barrier and cost less than £10
from various on-line suppliers. At that sort of money, a DIY solution
just ain't worth the hastle.

Yes, we used to have one like that - didn't realise they were still making
them, but it solves the problem.

Brilliant - I declare this a victory for the hivemind, and thank all for
their comments!

Interesting - I see they do an aluminium range as well, which is news to
me: maybe our brute wouldn't be able to do his thing with that...

http://www.staywell.co.uk/product_in...ries_sheet.pdf

Also has the slide-down barrier.

David