Fancy Cat Door

     I live in a two story house with 2 1/2 baths.  when I moved a cat in I needed to put his cat box somewhere and the 1/2 bath was the best place for it.  Problems arose because I now had to keep the bathroom door open a crack so the cat could come and go.  Not nice looking, or smelling.  

     My solution was to cut a cat door into the bathroom so I could keep the door closed.  After considering where to cut the door I decided on making a door into the bathroom from the storage cupboard that is also under the stairs.  From there I can cut a cat door into the storage cupboard door to allow access.  I chose to cut two doors so that people in the dining room don't have a little door directly into the bathroom to look at.  Also if I ever want to close it all up patching a wall in a closet is much easier to hide, not to mention a new door for the cupboard is cheaper than one for the bathroom itself. 

Step 1: Cutting the Hole in Your Wall

     I used a sheet rock saw that cost about $6 and it worked great.  From the bathroom side I drew lines where I wanted my door to be and just started cutting.  After cutting the one side I used the hole as a guide to cut the opposite side.  This worked ok but the door sizes are a little different because I did not hold the blade totally straight.  My cat does not mind.

Step 2: How to Keep the Cat Out of the Wall

     So after you open up a hole in the sheet rock you now have an entrance into your wall.  Not wanting to give my cat free reign of the interior walls I used some leftover cedar flooring to block the gaps.  I cut the pieces to fit and used silicon to stick them in.  Not real sturdy but it's for a cat and they walk lightly.  Plus I don't think he even steps on it, he just steps through.

Step 3: How to Hide the Ugly Cuts

     I originally planned to go get some 1/2 inch trim and make a frame for my cat doors but I was into this and wanted to finish.  I dug around and found some old frames  and decided to use those.  I opened them up, removed the glass  and in one removed the picture it came with.

      I then used a box knife to cut a hole in one of the backs.  The other had nice matting in it that would work well.  To cover the backs of the frames when you looked through the hole I used hot glue and black felt.  I then cut the felt out of the center using the matte as a guide.

Step 4: Hang the Frames!

     I used two trim nails at the bottoms and velcro at the top to secure the frames over the holes.  I might need to go back and secure them better but I was running out of steam and wanted to eat dinner.

     And Presto!  Two hours after starting I had my cat door and Jak-Jak approves.  I approve too because I can now close the bathroom door all the way.  It will also make a convenient pass through if you need more toilet paper or a magazine.  

     Next step is to cut a door into the half door of the cupboard.  I want to make this look good so I need to pull the door off and take it to a friends house that has real tools for wood.  I am thinking a round hobbit door, or a Stargate, or a sliding grate would be pretty cool.  That and a potter nameplate would look good.