You may have read in Foster’s recent post “Catnip, Anyone?” that there is a door in my house that leads to the garage.
You may also have read that Foster loves going in the garage every chance he gets. Which would be okay with me if he would mind when I told him to come back in the house. But he doesn’t. I looked it up; cats his age are considered to be in their teenage years. Need I say more?
So it followed that I would have to come up with an idea. I thought, if I had a folding door or screen in the doorway between the living room and the area by the garage door, it would help keep Foster from getting in the garage while I was going in or out. (In case you haven’t tried it, it’s quite a job to deter a cat from sneaking out between your feet while you are holding a laundry basket or grocery bags.) Fortunately, after much online searching, I found it: “The right choice for [my] home or office!”
It’s always fun to get a new box! I ordered the door from Home Depot but had it shipped to my house because I didn’t want to mess with trying to put it in my car.
My faithful assistant says it passes inspection!
The online reviews said it took on average 30 minutes to install. It took me about an hour and a half, but some of that was just trying to get the box open!
And stopping to let Foster play with the plastic strips holding the box together!
And, like the good teacher I am, I did read the directions!
In the reviews for this product most people said the door was very easy to install, and I must say they were right. I was amazed at how easy it was. But then, after my last “home improvement project” anything would seem easy, right?
However, the majority of reviews said that the package was missing some of the hardware, which was also true. There were no 1 inch screws, although there were a total of 7 three-fourths inch ones. (Or was it the other way around?) The washers were also missing, so I just did without them. I also found the other flathead screw (you only see one in this picture).
Anyway…
I had expected to have to cut some off the height, but it was perfect. I did have to adjust the track at the top, because my doorway was less than 32 inches wide, but I knew that. 
Cutting was easy with my trusty hacksaw.
Here you can see how the track attaches to the top of the doorway.
There is a little magnet to hold the door shut. But it wouldn’t catch the door handle with both screws in, so I took one out.
Success!
To hold the other side of the door to the door jamb, they gave you these 3/4 inch screws. The screw barely stuck out from the plastic piece, with only a little bit to actually screw into the wood.
So for the other two holes, I used some I found in the garage. It took awhile, but I did manage to get them screwed in all the way.
It looks like it would be hard for a cat to squeeze under the door. The magnet latch isn’t very strong, so if he wanted to he could probably push it open. But at least four reviewers wrote that the door was working to keep their cats out of the closet, basement, or wherever. So I was happy with the way it turned out.
Here is how it looks with the light on and with it off. Below you can see how it looks when it’s open.
Nana's Whimsical World 