Smart Cat Flap Reads Microchip To Vet Your Pet

Online, September 11, 2010 (Newswire.com) - This new cat flap in effect provides cats the key to their home but allows owners to choose when cats can go out - for example if they wish to keep their cats in at night.

The cat flap is designed to only allow owners cats access into the home and blocks other animals from gaining access. Retailers report that the main reason for these cat flaps being so popular is the damage that neighbours cats and stray cats can cause when they get into peoples homes.

A Pet Porte Smart Flap has a RRP of £102.50, compared with the most basic cat flaps, which start at £9.99.

James Winsoar, the managing director of the http://www.microchipcatflaps.co.uk/ website, which has retailed these innovative cat flaps since 2006, said: "The main reason people order the Pet Porte Smart Flap is to keep stray cats out who break in, fight with their cats, and pinch their cat's dinner."

His website has sold thousands of Pet Porte microchip cat flaps since it was launched four years ago.

Over two million cats in Britain are microchipped, with a tiny pet ID chip injected into their neck. The Pet Porte Smart Flap works by using a sensor that basically picks up the signal emitted from the chip. The owner can simply programme their cat in by pressing one button and scanning their cat under the sensor. Once programmed, the door unlocks automatically for four seconds when the cat comes within the six inch scanning range.

Up to 30 cats can be programmed on the battery-operated or AC powered flap. There is also an optional night mode so that the owners cats are only allowed to go out during daylight hours.

A spokesman for Radio Systems Inc., the company that manufactures the flaps in Guernsey, said: "There have been plenty of smart flaps before, using magnets or infra-red. But this is the first one that does not require a cat to wear a special collar and the first one to use microchips. It is unique and a real breakthrough in cat flap technology."