As the popularity of cats continues to increase with cats rapidly approaching the popularity of dogs and more and more people who keep cats moving into high raised apartments where a traditional cat flap will not work, we have noticed more and more questions about cat flap alternatives being asked.
This can sometimes present a real problem for some people as they want a way for their pet cat to be able to easily get in and out of the apartment as it wishes but they also want to keep their apartment as secure and safe as possible.
Now, there are a number of options available with new cat flap alternatives being invented all of the time but many of these new products are not really fit for purpose.
Out of these newer twists on the traditional cat flat, we have to say that the window pet door is the best option, especially if you are living in an apartment as it lets you give your cat an entry and exit point over a fire escape stairway as needed.
We often see people asking if they even need a catflap for their cats if they are not able to find themselves a safe cat flap alternative on the market too.
Due to seeing so many variants of different questions based on cat flap alternatives, we have decided to cover them in this article to try and help our readers in as many different situations as possible with our table of contents below making it as quick and easy as possible to navigate the article.
Can You Keep A Cat Without A Cat Flap?
Many people keep a cat without a cat flap without issue and depending on how you raised your cat and your current situation, this may not be an problem moving forward if you have recently moved into a new apartment.
It can present issues if your cat is used to being able to get out whenever it wants and now your new apartment has no easy exit or entry for your cat though.
It can be easy to raise a cat as an “indoor cat” and many people do it without issue as the cat tends not to have problems staying in the home when that is all that it has ever known.
The majority of cats that meow constantly, scratch at windows and doors or pester you to get outside are usually “outdoor cats” that are used to having their own freedom and don’t whatever it is that they want.
This is when you may have to look to work out some way to install a cat flap alternative to your new home to make sure that your cat is able to get in and out as it wishes without pestering you or destroying your home by scratching at doors and windows.
It is surprisingly difficult to convert an outdoor cat to being an indoor cat and the majority of people are simply not able to do it so going with a cat flap alternative is usually the best option.
What Can I Use Instead Of A Cat Flap?
The post popular alternative to a cat flap for an apartment that is not on the ground-floor is a window that is over the emergency stairwell.
A set of window sliding locks can usually be easily installed on most modern windows with ease to make it difficult for anyone to adjust the width that the window is open and to help keep your property as safe as possible.
Just keep in mind though, there will always be some sort of risk and even cat flaps present a risk as it is a vulnerability to your home.
You can usually get some window sliding locks for less than $20 that are easy to install on your windows yourself too but depending on your area, this may not be the best option to take due to the risk of leaving a window open and attracting unwanted attention to your home being so high.
This is where the window pet door comes in and although it is not the perfect cat flap alternative as the dimensions of the windows in your new apartment will come into play, it is probably the best alternative to a cat flap on the market right now.
It allows you to quickly and easily give your cat access to your home when needed while still keeping your home as safe as possible with a number of different window pet door designs being available.
The Window Pet Door!
The window pet door is probably the best cat flap alternative on the market as it essentially offers the exact same functionality of a traditional cat flap but puts the flap on a window rather than a door.
You can take the standard off-the-shelf window pet door sizes that allow you to install the system on many different types of windows or there are highly customizable variants available that do require some DIY knowledge to fit.
The standard window pet door are usually the easiest options to fit as you just match up the length of the window pet door with your own windows and then order the required length with a door large enough for your pet.
Once installed in your home this then functions as a cat flap alternative offering one of the quickest and cheapest options.
The customizable window pet doors are often more difficult to find due to not being a very popular solution as well as them needing the cat owner to have some DIY skills to install the door so we usually just recommend that our readers go with the normal option.
If you do have some DIY skills then it may actually be easier and cheaper to just build your own fully customized pet door than go with one of the more advanced options anyway.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over our recommendations for a cat flap alternative to an end. We hope that we have been able to help as many of our readers as possible better understand exactly what they should be looking to do if they do need something to let their cat in and out of their home after moving into an apartment or other home that does not currently have a traditional cat flap. Depending on your situation, you may actually be able to install a traditional cat flap in your net home anyway as they do tend to workout to be the cheapest option by far anyway.
