Cat Mate Elite I.D. Disc Cat Door with Timer Control and 2 Collar Worn ID Discs

I've purchased 2 of these for different places and they've worked entirely as described so far. Both took a beating too as they were installed in RVs that traveled several thousand miles each. I've used it with multiple cats and have used the training mode (when one loses their ID disc) and the timer mode (which most folks use to set a in-only/nighttime curfew). The process to change the settings or setup the ID discs is quick and painless but I keep a copy of the manual (with bookmarks) handy because it's not the easiest to remember and isn't immediately intuitive unless you alter the settings frequently; however, since the door (and the cat that uses it) regularly move from place to place, changing some settings becomes second nature.After nearly 3 years of being used at least once or twice a day (sometimes a lot more), our cat figured out a little trick to the in-only mode we've used so regularly. The same 'trick' could work for out-only but basically if the door is pushed in the allowed direction while a programmed ID disc is detected in the near vicinity, the door unlocks which means if the door is in in-only mode and it's pulled by a ID disc wearing cat sitting inside, it'll unlock the door which gives the subject a chance to push the door open and pass through.While I've really enjoyed having the timer mode set the in-only access so reliably over the years without me having to do anything daily, a more mechanical solution was necessary (unless there's a electronic cat flap that wouldn't fail this test - maybe there are).

This worked great. Took a bit for the cat to figure it out...but we've been using for 3+ months and no other animals have been in our garage and the cat comes and goes as he needs! Hopefully it will work in the winter! We have only used during warmer months so far. We needed to keep stray cats out of garage. We have gone through way less cat food for sure. It will have paid for itself eventually if it keeps working. We were going through a 10 lb bag of cat food in a month. We have had the same bag now since we put it in 3 months ago! Yeah! I'll buy a smaller bag next time I think!?!? To train the cat to use it we just put him outside and put his food inside...showed him the food and he figured it out. My husband poked it through the window a few times to show him...but he figured it out!

I've had my door for 3 or 4 years. I like it, the cat who has privileges likes it. But now, the door is intermittently staying open when the privileged cat comes in and the non-privileged cats get out. Is anyone else having this problem? Have you found a solution in a specific part of the mechanics?

This product did not work with my Canadian cat's microchip. Despite several tries it would not let him in. I had his chip checked to make sure it was still at the back of his neck (it was) and the number could be read easily by a scanner. I returned it.

The design of this is very strange, I expected the lip of the outer cover to go over the cat door lip to cover up the hole cut in the door, but it doesn't. So it doesn't have a clean look. It was a pain to install and doesn't look good. I would expect more considering how much I spent on it.

Why on earth would I purchase an item for a multi cat household where only some animals are allowed outside- only to find out anyone can leave but only certain ones can come in? It is not clear in the item description and 305 model is unwieldy for cats, as they'd have to wear a collar.

This item is defective. It doesn't work consistently as stated. I would not recommend and would give it 0/5 stars if I could.

I am extremely bummed that this cat flap does not work properly. Will not read my cats microchip when he wants to enter my home. Therefore, I need to keep it fully unlocked in "trainer mode", and either go thru the tedious steps to lock and unlock it overnight, or manually block the opening with something during the night. It's more worthless than a cheap no frills cat flap, which would be far easier to lock %26 unlock with a simple slider, and no batteries or programming required. It seems the flap does detect my cats 15-character, 134.2KHz, ISO 11784/11785 International Standard microchip ID, when programming it. Though, there's no way to verify if it's read the correct numbers. The flashing zeros disappear when programming, and there's then a "P" indicating success, which I correctly save by pressing the PROG button. But when the flap is set to let only my cat in (not in training mode), it never detects his microchip. My cat will bang on the cat flap with his head for maybe 15 seconds before giving up. It has never worked even once, and we'd tried many times. The indicator that should show if he went outside, never toggles to the outside indicator. My flap is mounted in a plywood baffle without much metal nearby except for a medal window frame about 5 or 6 inches away. I had a veterinarian verify my cats microchip is functioning. And besides it seemed to have been read during the flaps programming procedure. Though we couldn't locate the microchip by touch (very fluffy cat), and the scanner used worked fine near his head. Can't really pinpoint the microchip location with a RFID scanner. I wanted to ask the vet if they could implant a 2nd microchip, hoping it'd work better, but vets see no sense in that when the current microchip functions fine for identifying my cat. All the trial and error research / debugging and the work and expense to creating a nice looking and insulated window insert to mount the flap into, has taken weeks, so likely the item can't be returned now. So I spent $140 on something that isn't as good as a $20 flap. I'm not happy! I purchased the recommended ID tags for a collar, compatible with the flap. That solution does work, except cat safety collars are made to come off fairly easily, and my cat lost the first pricy ID tag outside in just one day. Sure he could wear a non safety collar that'd stay on, but that also might get him killed while hooked on something outside, who knows where. I don't see the collar method as a workable solution since collars get lost, or snagged, and he'd be stuck outside. So no guaranteed freedom to come and go as was the intention. If this product worked as advertised, I would have given it a glowing review. Instead it was a huge let down.

Didn't work, screen showed a faded error-type message. Waited to long to try to install it, missed the return/exchange date. Can't even use it as a regular cat door. Dissatisfied, disappointed, out over $100 bucks 😑

I wish I had fully read all the reviews before buying this cat door. We have two cats, but needed to program the door to allow only one of the two cats in/out. The setting allow the cat to 1) come in and out, 2) go out only, 3) come inside only, and 4) cannot go in/out (locked). Obviously, we wanted to let Cat A come in/out at her leisure; however, when that setting is selected, either cat can get out -- the door would even unlock for our hands to push it open! But then it would only let the programmed cat back inside. Such brilliant design features with such an idiotic flaw. Will be returning.