"Hactar" wrote in message
...
We have sliding (pocket) doors connecting the "catty" and (ostensibly)
"non-catty" sides of the house. The house is divided like this for two
reasons: I have a friend who's very allergic to cat and rabbit dander,
and the non-c side of the house isn't remotely catproofed. During the
day they normally stay with the humans in the catty side, but during the
night there's nothing we can do.

Usually, cat #1 forces a door open then both cats take advantage of the
added room. Both the doors have built-in latches, but those are easily
overridden. Now, one of the doors (the one they use most often) has
Velcro (or a generic) on the door's leading edge, as well as a kickplate
mounted vertically (to eliminate claw damage). And in front of where
the doors close there's a 1-gal jug for one and a 4 lb bag of kitty litter
for the other. Those usually slow her down long enough to bring a squirt
bottle to within firing range.

For a few days we had two "Ssscat"s
http://www.multivet.net/en/products/ssscat/
until (I gather) it got knocked over and quickly dumped its propellant
on the floor. While they lasted, they worked well. I figure that
after a while they may not have to be turned on; I don't know how long
"a while" is however. I've ordered some refills. I would prefer
something that didn't go off on humans, but it's better than nothing.
I'll tape down the refills to make sure they can't get knocked over.

So, is there anything that can reliably keep the cats in their half the
house? I'm thinking about a latch for the doors. The sticking point is
finding something that's easy for humans and impossible for cats, can be
operated from both sides, and doesn't make it look like we're in a
prison.


Get your friend on a decent allergy medication, and get your cats things
they prefer to scratch on, like Alpine scratchers and tall post, and keep
their claws trimmed. Once a month does it for us. You can keep living in
this ridiculous way, but you know you don't want to. Although, if you do, it
will keep your cats occupied and laughing. Too funny.