A cat flap can sometimes be fitted to a garage door, giving your cat access to a sheltered area without altering the front or back door of your home. However, whether this is safe and practical depends on the type of garage door, how it operates and where the opening would be positioned.
Before cutting into any garage door, check the manufacturer’s instructions and seek professional advice. An unsuitable alteration could weaken the door, interfere with its mechanism, affect security or invalidate its guarantee.
Which Garage Doors Can Accommodate a Cat Flap?
A cat flap is easiest to install in a fixed, flat panel that does not contain cables, braces, locks or other operating components. Some side-hinged and solid-panel doors may be suitable, but this must be confirmed for the particular door.
Extra care is needed with doors that move along tracks, fold into sections or roll around a barrel. Cutting through one of these doors could affect its strength, weather resistance or operation.
Up-And-Over Garage Doors
An up-and-over door moves as one large panel. A cat flap may be possible in certain designs, but only where the manufacturer confirms that a suitable part of the panel can be cut without affecting the door’s structure, balance, locking system or lifting mechanism.
Sectional Garage Doors
Sectional doors are formed from several horizontal panels that travel along tracks. A cat flap must not obstruct the joins between panels or interfere with the door as it opens. Many sectional doors are insulated, so cutting through a panel could also affect its thermal performance and weather seal.
Roller Garage Doors
Roller doors are generally unsuitable because the individual slats roll around a barrel above the opening. A cat flap would prevent the door from operating correctly.
Dencroft supplies several styles of garage doors. If pet access is important, discuss it before choosing or altering a door so the available options can be considered.
Would a Side Door or Wall Be More Suitable?
In many garages, a fixed personnel door or external wall is a more practical location for a cat flap than the main vehicle door. These areas do not move when the garage is opened and may offer more flexibility over the height and position of the flap.
Before making an opening in a concrete garage wall, check how the panel is constructed and reinforced. Cutting into a structural concrete panel without professional guidance could damage it. Owners considering alterations to an existing building can ask about Dencroft’s garage repair and refurbishment services.
Important Safety And Security Checks
Any proposed cat flap should be assessed carefully before installation. Points to consider include:
- whether the door or wall manufacturer permits the alteration
- the location of braces, reinforcement, cables, springs and tracks
- whether the flap could interfere with locks or opening mechanisms
- the risk of someone reaching through the opening to operate a lock
- the possibility of water entering around the cut edges
- whether the garage door will remain covered by its guarantee
- how the door can be operated without putting a pet at risk
A locking cat flap can help control when your cat enters and leaves. Microchip-operated models can also prevent unfamiliar cats and other animals from entering, although they should not be treated as a substitute for proper garage security.
Do Not Cut Into A Fire-Resisting Door
If the garage is attached to or forms part of the house, the door between the garage and the living accommodation may need to provide fire resistance. Cutting an opening into this door could compromise that protection.
In England, current Building Regulations guidance requires fire-resisting separation between an attached or integral garage and the dwelling. Requirements can vary elsewhere in the UK, so speak to building control or a suitably qualified professional before altering any door between a garage and a home.
Where an integral garage is involved, an external garage door, suitable side door or another professionally assessed route may provide a safer option.
Can You Install A Garage Cat Flap Yourself?
A competent DIYer may be able to install a cat flap in a suitable fixed timber door by following the product and door manufacturer’s instructions. Altering a metal, insulated, automated or moving garage door is more complicated and is generally better left to an experienced installer.
Before beginning, confirm that the proposed location is free from structural reinforcement and operating equipment. The exposed edges must be finished and sealed correctly to reduce the risk of corrosion, sharp edges and water ingress.
Choosing A Garage With Pet Access In Mind
If you are planning a new concrete garage, it is easier to consider pet access while choosing the doors, windows and layout than to alter the building later.
To discuss garage door styles and find out which options may suit your plans, contact Dencroft Garages for practical advice before ordering or modifying a door.