Keeping cat in while letting dogs out w/ a doggie door?

[greengirl_]

We have 2 dogs (indoor/outdoor) and 2 cats (indoor only). I would really like to get a doggie door so that the dogs can go inside when it rains, or outside at night to pee, but I want to be able to keep the cats inside at all times.

I'm looking into getting a doggie door like this one that has a magnetic "key" that the dog wears. I also saw some similar electronic pet doors like this one.

My question is: would a crafty kitty be able to sneak out? How close does the dog have to be for the door to unlock? I'm afraid the cat will figure it out and wait by the door for a dog to walk by and sneak out.

Does anyone have experience with a doggie door like these, or have any advice about keeping the cat inside? Thanks!

[Peony]

We have a slightly older version of the door on the second link. I don't think the first door would work, it didn't say it was for both directions, most doors let anything out, you want to make sure that it only opens for the dog. Our door is eh. We've had it for 3 years now, had to buy it because we lost a cat to a neighbor's dog after it slipped out of a regular dog door. It took about a year and then the cat figured out the dog door. I will admit that our cat is not the smartest of animals and it would probably take a regular cat less time to figure it out.

It opens when a vacuum goes near it. In our old house, the washing machine/dryer was near the dog door and it set it off as well. As time as gone on, it does open randomly every now and then. When the dog walks within a foot of it then the door opens, I don't know the timing off the top of my head but I'd say it is 30 seconds from the time it opens until it closes. The cat just sits by the door and waits for the door to open. The biggest problem now is that unless the cat has a magnet then the cat ends up getting locked out. I haven't been able to keep the cat inside with this type of dog door. I ended up giving up and letting the cat go out for short periods.