It's a matter of basic intelligence.
Cats can look after themselves. Dogs can't.
Cats keep themselves clean. Dogs don't.
Cats can't be trained. Dogs can.
Well... as it turns out, some cats can't be trained - even when it's in their best interests.
Microchip activated pet doors have been around for a while, but now Sure Petcare have merged theirs with the internet, with the Sure Cat Door Connect.
If you've ever had an issue with a strange cat sneaking into your house to nick food, mess up the place or just cause general mayhem, you've probably considered a microchip powered door. This is a simple but foolproof way of making sure only your cats can come in or out as the door will only recognise their unique chips.
Of course, this means your cat or cats have to be chipped in the first place, which might be something you want to do anyway as once they're registered on a national database, they can be identified if they become lost. Chipping your cat doesn't have to be super expensive, but you'll need to shop around as I found the cost varied dramatically from vet to vet.
Alternatively, for $25 you can buy a pair of RFID Collar Tags - assuming you've ever been able to persuade your cat to wear a collar. Good luck with that.
Next step?
Installation. This is pretty straight-forward if you're replacing an existing cat door and Sure Petcare has some great how-to videos on its website. However, if you're planning on installing your Sure Cat Door Connect into a wall or god help you, double-glazing, be prepared for a shock. Obviously, depending on the wall, you'll probably need to organise a specialist installer. I had the worst case scenario; who knew you can't just cut a hole in a double-glazed window? Turns out, you have to get an entirely new pane made to order. We're talking several hundred dollars-worth before you even buy the door itself. Ouch. This thing better work.
Once you actually have a hole, the attaching-the-door-to-it bit is very simple. Sure Petcare offers a variety of mounting adapters to suit both wall or glass situations and thankfully, these are not expensive at all.
Then comes the really fun part; registering your cat with the door. Technically, the process couldn't be easier - a simple push of a button, then put your cat through the door. Done. I have two cats. One likes me. The other... it's kind of a state of war. Luckily, getting their head against the door is enough to do the business. Unluckily, even though the evil cat has used cat doors before, she has decided she prefers not to use this one.
Obviously there's a mechanical element to how the Sure Cat Door Connect works, with a small plastic lock lowering itself out of the way the instant the door recognises a registered cat. Unfortunately this makes a distinct clicking sound and it seems to be this noise that puts evil cat off. She'll walk right up to the door, but the second she hears that click, she's goneburger. Meanwhile, good cat comes and goes as he pleases. A lot. Almost to spite her. Suck on that, evil cat.
Anyway, assuming your cat is not evil, the door itself works like any other; you can set it to let your cats in, out, both or neither. But here comes the smart part - add the Sure Petcare Hub and you control all those things with your phone. From anywhere.
And that's just the beginning.
With the Sure Petcare App, you can create individual profiles for each of your pets, including using their cutest photo for their profile pic. (Or maybe an image of a demon for an evil cat?) Then you can choose to keep each individual pet in or out, or you can even set a curfew for them if you don't want them out roaming at certain times. The great thing about this IoT connectedness, is if you're away and someone else is only stopping by every now an then to feed your cats, you can still tell if they're coming or going, from anywhere in the world.
What's more, if anything changes while your away - perhaps your cat has started bringing in "wildlife" and your mother-in-law would rather not clean that up, you can change the settings on the door to let the offending pet out, but not in. Simple, but genius.
The only real limitation is the Hub has to connect directly to your router via ethernet cable, which does restrict its placement. Sure Petcare recommends having it reasonably close to the door for optimum reception, but mine's in the next room and I've had no connection problems whatsoever.
I did struggle to set up the Hub initially though - and I consider myself (perhaps wrongly) to be reasonably tech savvy. The app provides very clear, step-by-step instructions on how to do this but try as I might, I couldn't get it to work. (Bearing in mind the door still works without being connected to the Hub, you just can't use the app with it)
In desperation, I contacted the Sure Petcare support team. Within 24 hours they'd reset my Hub remotely and it worked straight away. I love good service like that.
Including the Sure Petcare Hub, the Cat Door Connect is $325 which might seem a lot for a pet door - but if you've ever come home to the smell of a rogue tomcat spraying all over your house, you'll know it's an investment worth considering.
The only feature missing is the ability to turn all the features off. I can't help wondering if I could just unlock the door completely for a few days, maybe evil cat would start using it (without the clicking) then I could switch everything back on once her entries and exits had become habit. Weirdly, Sure Petcare have assumed there are no evil cats and this just isn't an option.
Ah well, she's only drawn blood a few times. I'm sure we'll get there in the end.
Click here for more information and pricing for the Sure Cat Door Connect.
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