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(More customer reviews)I bought originally bought the Pet Safe Magnetic door (not this one) because I liked the idea of not needing batteries as the Cat Mate doors did. I needed an electronic door for a feeding box to separate my two cats during feeding time since one had to be put on a prescription diet. I was going to put the non prescription cat's food in the box (since it would be bad for the sick cat to eat the regular food, but not the end of the world if the other cat had a bit or two of the prescription food).
The sick cat is definitly the dominate, more food-motivated cat, so I figured he'd be first at the trough when the auto-feeder went off with his food anyways. So, everything should have worked out.
I bought a large storage tote with handles that locked over the lid, cut the door-sized hole in the side of it, installed the door, and set it up with the non-perscription food in it.
Literally, in under 10 seconds, the dominate, food motivated cat had popped the Pet Safe door open and had gained access to the off-limits food. I returned that door.
I think it really is a design flaw on the Pet Safe door that the latch that holds the door closed until the magnetic tag trips it is located at the bottom corner of the door. When a cat (or raccoon) pushes hard enough on the other corner, the clear plastic door is flexible enough that the whole door just pops over the latch that is supposed to be holding it closed.
I ended up deciding to get two other different doors so each cat could have their own private eating space. I got a Cat Mate magnetic door, and a Cat Mate Super Selective microchip activated door (the one described on this page). The magnetic Cat Mate door is similar in price to the Pet Safe, but the Super Selective costs more than twice as much. But, if you have two cats in my situation, you can't have two magnetic doors because any magnet will open either door, so they wouldn't be kept away from the other's food.
I love the Cat Mate doors. Even on the magnetic one, the latch is centered at the bottom of the door, so it would be much harder to get open just by pushing on it. But, a smart racoon with claws might figure out that he could pull the door back toward him and get in that way. My cat that is not allowed in this door is not super agressive, so I haven't seen her try to get in, but I can tell this is a sturdier magnetic door than the Pet Safe and would probably keep most all cats out.
The Cat Mate Super Selective has little pegs that pop up into the base of the door and hold the door in place from both directions, so it is advertised as "racoon proof." I have found it to be very effective against my food bully tomcat. He's almost tipped the box over (and spilled the water bowl inside), but he hasn't opened the door. Plus, if you have several cats you need to separate, the Cat Mate Selective or Super Selective is your only option since it senses each cat's unique microchip tag and allows or disallows access based on each individual cat's chip. If you only need to separate two cats, or two groups of cats, you can get away with using one magnetic door and one microchip door.
I got the "Super Selective" frankly because I could not find the plain old "Selective" in stock anywhere. It is nice to have the display window that the Super Selective provides over the Selective. The only feature of this that I regularly use is the button to see how long ago the cat went through. This is nice so I can see if she's eaten during the day when I'm gone to work. I imagine having the display also makes it slightly easier to program.
The Super Selective does make a little noise as the pegs are released and then when they pop up again. My cat that uses this door is a little skitish, but she's gotten used to it in a matter of a few weeks. She's still a little hesitant, and it sometimes takes her a few tries, but when she's hungry, she can make her way in to eat, and then back out again.
I have not used most of the fancy programming features (giving certain cats different access rights, timing which cat is allowed to go where when), so I can't say how well those work, or if there are any flaws there.
I think the tripping mechanism for unlocking the doors has worked really well. When the cat nudges the door with her nose or paw, the sensor starts looking for her microchip, sees it, and unlocks the door. So, the cats have to get used to giving it a little nudge, hearing the pegs disengage, and then walking though. My cat that uses this door is still very hesitant. She often nudges several times before she actually decides to push her way through the door, which means that the pegs go up and down several times. It seems as though the door is designed so that the pegs don't pop up again until the door is down, vertical, and centered. I've held the door open for her for long periods of time, and the pegs don't pop up again until the door is closed and ready to be locked.
On occasion, due the the multiple nudges and hesitancy of my cat, the pegs have popped up with the door not being perfectly centered, which, theoretically, could lock the cat in on one side of the door. But, the door seems to sense this, and after a few minutes, corrects itself by dis-engaging the pegs (which lets the door get centered again, and then re-engaging the pegs so that the door is in it's normal state again.
In summary, I would not use the Pet Safe magnetic door if I were using it as a door to the outside. It would be too easy for other animals to get in. If you need to separate indoor cats for feeding purposes, and none of the cats are too strong or motivated to get at the other's food, the Pet Safe door might work, but I believe the Cat Mate options are better designed, sturdier, and just better doors. I've been using these for just over one month now, and am very happy with them both.
If I were needing an outside door, the Cat Mate Selective or Super Selective are the only ones I would consider. Also, if you are in my situation (wanting to give two cats private feeding areas), or need to separate 3 or more cats, the Cat Mate Selective or Super Selective is the way to go. They are more expensive, but if you want to keep unwelcomed critters out, that's the best I've found.
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