Best Cat Flap: What to Consider When Choosing a Cat Flap

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Cat flaps are recommended, both for indoor and outdoor cats. Let’s look at how to choose the best cat flap for your pet!

There are many things to consider before committing to purchasing a cat flap. Rather than buying the first cat flap you see or the cheapest you can find, it’s best to consider your options carefully.

A good cat flap will last for years and will give your cat the freedom to explore your yard or choose to come home for a cuddle.

Here’s everything you need to know when searching for the best cat flap for your home.

The Benefits of a Cat Flap

Anyone who regularly caters to the whims of a cat can attest to the utility of a cat flap. Always suppose you can persuade the cat to use one. If you can, there are several benefits to installing a cat flap.

Environmental Enrichment

One of the most obvious advantages of installing a cat flap is that they prove a source of environmental enrichment for your cat. This is true irrespective of where you install the cat flap. For instance, affixing it to an external door gives your cat easy access to the garden, where they can:

Sunbathe
Hone hunting instincts
Exercise

Even if you are reluctant to let your cat outside, there are still creative ways to use cat flaps to benefit your cat.

One of these is that installing a cat flap on a closet door or into a garage or shed offers easy access to cool, dark places for sleeping. That can be beneficial for your cat in hot weather.

Exercise

If you install a cat flap on a door connecting to the outdoors, the other benefit is that your cat can exercise more than it otherwise might. Cats are instinctual hunters, but not all humans are equally good at tapping into those instincts with laser toys and fishing poles. Consequently, indoor-only cats are more likely to gain weight than outdoor cats. That sounds like a minor detail, but weight gain can cause various health complications in cats, especially early-onset arthritis.

Feline Independence

If the pandemic proved nothing else, cats in a mood can be a nuisance to humans trying to get work done. There’s nothing like trying to sit through a meeting while your cat battens on the window for your attention.

Cat flaps give your cat the freedom of movement to go where they want when they want without impinging on other parts of your life. Since cats are naturally more independent than dogs, they won’t complain about their new freedom.

The Best Cat Flaps

Here are our recommendations for cat flaps available on Chewy. We’ve reviewed exterior and interior cat flaps and doors:

Exterior cat flaps

Cat Mate 4-Way Locking Cat Flap
Ideal Pet Products Lockable Cat Flap Pet Door
PetSafe 4-Way Locking Microchip Entry Cat Door
Cat Mate Electromagnetic Cat Flap

Interior cat doors

PetSafe 2-Way Locking Cat Door
PetSafe Durable Interior Cat Door
Purrfect Portal Original Interior Cat Door
Purrfect Portal with Brush Interior Cat Door

Exterior Cat Flaps

Here are some great products for cats that like to be both indoors and outside. These cat flaps will give your pet more freedom: