The idea of an infrared security collar is very good, since many owners now use magnetic tags to try to keep out unwanted cats and magnetic sensors let in any cat with a magnetic tag. However, this is a very poorly designed product which does not work. The locking mechanism is very flimsy and after a few days it stopped working. I have made many attempts to lubricate it, and free it up but ultimately it is a very bad design and just does not lock.
Poorly designed product that is just not strong enough to stop unwanted tom cats getting in. I've bought two of these flaps now as other cats have just forced their way through and knocked the internal mechanism out of kilter. The first one was just out of guarantee when it was broken by another cat and the second catflap was also broken by another cat. When I called up the Staywell helpdesk, reluctantly, they sent me a replacement for the internal mechanism but said that this was a goodwill gesture only as the guarantee did not cover another cat forcing its way in!!!
They did say that cats don't like going into areas they can't see so I should cover up the glass area to black it out. This did work briefly but the tom cat once again forced its way in. The design is weak because it only has one latch set to the side of the base that can easily be forced out of the way by a determined tom. I'm going to try a different brand as I now need a third cat flap in 3 years.
Not recommended.
