Alternative to cat door for an inside door

August 12, 2023 1:03 PM

I’m looking for a way to keep a closet door continuously open so our cats (cat tax 1 and cat tax 2) can use their litter boxes any time they need to. We can’t install a cat door in that door for reasons too boring to get into. Has anyone tried any alternatives to the usual cat door?

We don’t need anything fancy or anything like that, but right now we’re just relying on remembering to make sure the door is always open. Obviously, this is not exactly a perfect system, especially if we have guests over. We’re thinking about getting one of these contraptions, but they’re a bit pricey so I’d love to hear of anyone has experience with it before I order one.

Barring that, is there a method I’m not thinking of? (We own the apartment, so we can make holes in the walls or whatever.)

posted by holborne to Pets & Animals (23 answers total)

As a kid, my dad took a bit of wood about 4-6" long and screwed it into the door frame at the top. Loose enough to allow it to move but still secure. Flipped out it, it kept door open, flipped in the door could close. Easy. Cheap.
posted by Ftsqg at 1:08 PM on August 12, 2023 [3 favorites]

Not related to a litter box, but for one closet our cat Oona likes to hide in, we use a child safety device that's designed to keep a door from opening or closing all the way. A piece of foam slipped on the leading edge of the door prevents it from closing, and a strap-and-latch kind of thing keeps the door from opening all the way (unless we undo the latch.) She freaks out about closed doors sometimes, as cats do, and she also locked herself in a different closet for the night by going to town scratching a floor runner that bunched up and pulled the door closed on her.
posted by emelenjr at 1:25 PM on August 12, 2023 [5 favorites]

Imgur's robot thinks that Cat Tax 2 "may contain erotic or adult imagery" which is kind of hilarious.

At our house we just use a sandbag for this. Our supermarket sells 5kg of basmati rice in a nice cloth bag with a zip, and that works well. The sandbag doubles as our emergency stash of cat litter.
posted by flabdablet at 1:46 PM on August 12, 2023 [9 favorites]

Remove door and place a curtain across it?
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 1:51 PM on August 12, 2023 [4 favorites]

I'd take the door off and put it in the basement. You can always put it back on if you need it again.
posted by fritley at 1:52 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I should mention that we live in an apartment, so alas, no useable basement.
posted by holborne at 1:54 PM on August 12, 2023

I can’t vouch for how well this gadget works but I’ve seen it advertised: flexlatch
posted by girlalex at 2:04 PM on August 12, 2023

Maybe this is too ugly, but a split piece of pool noodle on top of the door?
posted by lioness at 2:15 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

I bought something off Amazon a while ago similar to the flexlatch linked above, I just searched "cat door latch" and bought one that looked good.

They've worked very well for me, also living in an apartment and unable to do any actual renovating.
posted by zekesonxx at 2:38 PM on August 12, 2023

Use a regular old door stop? If a door is propped open with purpose, a guest is not likely to close it.
posted by shock muppet at 4:37 PM on August 12, 2023 [6 favorites]

A chunk of stuff rubber, like a rubber door stop, screwed into the top of the door and pointing to the jamb would keep it open. And ain't no landlord checking the top of doors for damage.
posted by Mitheral at 4:45 PM on August 12, 2023 [4 favorites]

I use these on my doors so my cats don't destroy the carpet trying to get the doors open: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0199JMEWE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They stay on well and are also very easy to take off, you just pull it off.
posted by jenjenc at 6:29 PM on August 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

Remove door and place a curtain across it?

This is what we did. We also lack a basement so the door is stashed behind our couch against the wall.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 6:40 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

I just removed the doorknob from the door to the closet where the litter box is kept. Without the knob it can't latch, and so the cats are able to get their paws under it and pull it open if by some chance I absent-mindedly push it shut.

The bonus is that this can easily be reversed, which is helpful for renters like us.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:00 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

I folded a hand-towel in half, then in thirds, and draped it over the top of the door about six inches from the hinged side. It keeps the door open about four inches.
posted by feistycakes at 7:21 PM on August 12, 2023 [3 favorites]

Similar to jenjenc, I have these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BNK7YDHS?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title&th=1

They work super well and can be door stops as well. Super sturdy and versatile.
posted by foxfirefey at 9:41 PM on August 12, 2023

I just screwed a long screw into the top surface of the door - i.e. the screw is vertical, going down into the top of the door. Instead of screwing it all the way in, I left it sticking up enough that it bumps into the frame above to prop the door open. You can decide exactly how open you want the door to be, e.g., one cat wide, and then put the screw in so it bumps the frame at that point. If your door is hollow, you could flip the screw to point up into the frame instead. I happened to use a screw with a rounded head, and screwed in to just the right length, the door comes to a nice, friction-y, gradual stop against it. Much better than the doorstop we used for years before I thought of doing it this way!
posted by daisyace at 6:28 AM on August 13, 2023

I wrapped a long piece of cord on both doorknobs; a nice scarf will work. You basically used the 2 knobs as a winder. My pets have always been adept at opening any door not securely latched.
posted by theora55 at 12:01 PM on August 13, 2023

I just removed the doorknob from the door to the closet where the litter box is kept. Without the knob it can't latch, and so the cats are able to get their paws under it and pull it open if by some chance I absent-mindedly push it shut.


Note that most door knob assemblies that don't require turning the handle to shut will happily latch without the knob itself being installed, you additionally have to remove the little plunger thing from the center of the sandwich to prevent latching. At which point you can put just the knob bits back on to hide the thru hole.
posted by Mitheral at 1:27 PM on August 13, 2023

We bought and use the Door Buddy Pet Latch for Cats to keep our dog out of the office and to be able to let the cat in to do eat or use the litter box.
posted by photovox at 5:04 AM on August 14, 2023

Door Buddy, and another item linked on the page, a pinch guard, are the two things that we have. My mistake, I thought they were sold together, not just often purchased together.
posted by emelenjr at 6:57 AM on August 14, 2023

i use the pool noodle solution. the ones i've had in place for 8 years are getting a bit ratty, but you can't beat the price.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 9:16 AM on August 14, 2023

I'm not sure what counts as "installing a cat door" - so ignore this if not helpful. But I just cut a square out of the bottom of my door big enough for cats to pass through. Nothing installed, we just cut the hole, sanded down the edges and got on with life.
posted by invincible summer at 2:34 PM on August 14, 2023