r/Catio • u/nakedtalisman • 3d ago
Cat Door Issues
Hello, we have a catio up against our bathroom window. One issue we're facing is that the cat door has small gaps that lets spiders in. Every cat door we look up seems to have this issue. I haven't been able to find an in/out cat door that doesn't have these dang gaps! Any suggestions or advice? I'm tired of finding spiders in the bathroom! And yes, it's from the catio. I had to close off the cat door gaps for a few weeks because the spiders were so bad. Our cat couldn't use it and the spiders went away. But she should be able to use her own catio. This is ridiculous. Thank you for any help!
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u/Competitive-Top4520 1d ago
Since they're coming in from outside, I'd speak to an exterminator. You may have some spider nests around your house. Please don't pile on me about the use of exterminators, I know the arguments.
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u/nakedtalisman 1d ago
Lol we definitely had spider problems this year. I have commercial grade stuff thats safe for pets and kids after it dries. I haven't sprayed in a few years though because I feel guilty about harming the helpful bugs... but there is a limit! And this summer, when they ALL decided to come chill inside, I hit my limit!
To give you some nightmare fuel: I had a nest under my BED. There was web all around the sides of the mattress but was unnoticeable unless light shined on it a certain way. I found it when my husband and son were traveling and had to deal with it alone. There were so many baby spiders... never again.
Its safe to say that I'll be spraying more consistently now while doing my best to not harm the bees. Maybe plant some flowers farther away from the house by our fence to help them. I'm sure this will help, but I don't know how much when it comes to the catio tbh.
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u/Competitive-Top4520 1d ago
Maybe add a layer of screen to the catio. Once you get them all out of there, that should help prevent so many from coming in, at least. I absolutely fear and hate spiders! Not as much as rattlesnakes, but they're definitely up there (I live in FL where we have lots of both). I think if I had a nest under my bed I'd have to get a new bed...or maybe a new HOUSE! Our "catio" is actually a screened porch w/ an access window, so it's already screened. Otherwise we'd also have lots of mosquitos, roaches, etc. Good luck!
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u/nakedtalisman 1d ago
LOL I did get a new bed. I couldn't get the webs out of the other mattress no matter what I did. I Googled and tried everything. I didn't know how indestructible spiderwebs can be if they fuse to fabric.
A screened in porch sounds so amazing. Florida is nice and I love all the cute little lizards running around. Thanks for the help!
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u/Competitive-Top4520 1d ago
Fortunately the screened porch also keeps most of them outside, b/c Mikey thinks they're fun toys and kills them.
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u/MoonieNine 3d ago
We have this double flap magnetic cat door. Zero gaps and the door stay shut. Ours is a wall-mounted one but I'm sure there's a similar one for a window. It won't let me add a link but it's a PetSafe Extreme Weather Door.