We have had a few customers ask if our products are sturdy enough to keep raccoons out so we thought we would enlist the help of two furry product testers at our local zoo to test a new feature on the SureFlap Microchip Pet Door.

Two resident raccoons at Shepreth Wildlife Park, Jumbo and Numning, stepped in to help. We installed a SureFlap Microchip Pet Door in a feed box to be placed in the raccoon pen. Initially, the microchip reading technology was turned off on the pet door, so that any animal could get in through it, and Jumbo and Numning were fed treats inside the feed box to get them used to going in through the pet door.

The raccoons quickly got the idea that the pet door was a doorway to food heaven! We then turned the pet door on and put it into Custom Mode 5, a security feature that prevents dextrous animals from gaining access.

Once the pet door was all set up, we put treats inside the feed box once more. With a lot of persistence, the raccoons tried to get at the treats and we are pleased to report that they were unable to get in! The SureFlap Microchip Pet Door held fast. Needless to say we rewarded the raccoons with the treats to thank them for their assistance!

We documented the process on film. In the video below, you will see just how determined the raccoons were to get at their treats!

The keepers at Shepreth Wildlife Park were happy to help us test the SureFlap Microchip Pet Door with their raccoons as it was a great way to provide a source of enrichment for them.

Please note that Custom Mode 5 is currently only available on the SureFlap Microchip Pet Door. This feature is not currently available on the SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap.

We’re having a bit of fun in the office today and we’ve all dressed up for Comic Relief! If you like our crazy costumes, why not donate to Comic Relief through the SureFlap Red Nose Day’s Giving Page.

We asked our Facebook fans to vote for their favourites. And the winners are…

1st: Brooke the Pregnant Trojan Warrior

2nd: Nick AKA Elvis

3rd: Wei the Pink Lady

As we were dressed up, we thought we would also do our very own version of the Harlem Shake! Watch our video below!



Which is your favourite costume?

Let us know by commenting on this blog post!

Some dogs bark to be let out into the garden when it’s time for them to ‘go’. A great way to stop this behaviour is to install a dog door, so that your dog can come and go as he pleases. If your dog has free access to the garden, you may find that he stops barking altogether.

If you have a small dog, you could invest in a SureFlap Microchip Pet Door. We recently launched this product in the UK, and will be rolling it out to the rest of the world in the next few weeks. The SureFlap pet door works with your pet’s microchip or collar mounted tag to give your pet exclusive access to your home, keeping other animals out.

Marion Trew installed a SureFlap Microchip Pet Door for her dog Treacle. She used to bark when she wanted to go outside. Now that she has a pet door, she’s stopped barking, because she can access the garden without having to alert Marion that she needs to go out.

When speaking about the pet door, Marion said: “It has substantially improved my life. I was aware of having to let the dog in and out of the kitchen door multiple times a day and especially in the evening when I was trying to relax.  Now she goes in and out by herself and what I hadn’t realised was how much she barked to be let in and out. Now she doesn’t bark at all and it is wonderful.”

Have you recently installed a pet door?

Has your new pet door put a stop to your dog’s barking? Why not tell us your story by commenting on this blog post!

Are you a neighbourhood of cat-owning and non-cat-owning residents? Are you looking for ways to live in harmony with all the cats in your neighbourhood? Is your neighbourhood in Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire or Lincolnshire?

At SureFlap, we’ve teamed up with leading animal behaviour specialist Jon Bowen, Cambridge Cat Clinic and Your Cat magazine to help a neighbourhood of cat-owning and non-cat-owning residents tackle their turf wars.

If you and your neighbours would like to take part in our campaign, you and the cats in your neighbourhood will benefit from expert advice on how to create a feline friendly environment. Learn how to adjust your cat’s environment to improve their behaviour and make them feel happier. Those without cats will learn how to keep the neighbour’s cat out of their garden in a humane way.

To take part in the SureFlap Neighbour Cat Campaign, your neighbourhood should have cats with regular access to the outdoors. Ideally, you should live in Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire or Lincolnshire.

To apply, complete the submission form on our website here. If you can, include the number of cat-owning households in your street and whether there are any on-going issues related to the local feline population. If you are chosen to take part in our campaign, we will be in touch!

The SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap is powered by 4 AA batteries. When the SureFlap is used correctly, the batteries should last up to a year with normal use. We’ve put together some tips on how to get the most out of the batteries so you don’t have to keep changing them.

Use good quality, non-rechargeable batteries

We recommend you use non-rechargeable Energizer or Duracell batteries in your SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap. Poor quality or rechargeable batteries are not recommended as they do not provide enough power to operate the SureFlap.

Keep your SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap sensors clean

In the tunnel of the SureFlap there are two sensors that detect when a cat is present. When a cat is in the tunnel, SureFlap powers up to read your cat’s microchip. If the sensors are dirty, the SureFlap may think there is a cat in the tunnel and will remain powered up, causing the batteries to drain quickly. Keep these sensors clean to prevent this from happening.

Remove loose fur from the draft excluder

Sometimes cat fur can get caught in the top strip of draft excluder. This can also cause the batteries to drain quickly by obstructing the sensors. Remove any build-up of fur regularly. Don’t forget that the sensors are in the tunnel of the SureFlap, so you will need to go outside to remove any fur that has collected near the sensors.

If you have a brown SureFlap check the sticker is still in place

In the tunnel of all brown SureFlap Microchip Cat Flaps, there is a reflective sticker. This sticker is used in conjunction with the sensors in the SureFlap. If the sticker has moved, or has come away completely, the SureFlap may think the brown plastic is in fact a cat inside the tunnel and will continue to power up, causing the batteries to drain. If you require a new sticker, please contact us and we will send one out to you.

Did you know, today is World Cat Day! And we’re celebrating the joy of cats by offering 10% off a SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap. But this offer isn’t just for today; it’s valid until 21^st August 2012!

Not only will you receive 10% off a cat flap, we’ll also be donating a percentage of every sale to two great charities.

5% of every sale will go to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). This fantastic animal charity launched World Cat Day in 2002. The IFAW was founded in 1969 to save individual animals, animal populations and habitats all over the world. They have animal welfare projects in over 40 countries across the globe.

We will also donate 5% of every sale to Tiertafel Deutschland, an animal charity based in Germany that is supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

If you would like to take advantage of this great discount for World Cat Day, and help us support these two great animal charities, just enter the discount code WCD2012 at the checkout on any of our webshops. Just click on a flag below to be redirected to the relevant SureFlap website.

(Note: Residents of the following countries can purchase a SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap from our UK website which incurs a £5 shipping fee: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden).

Are you doing anything special for World Cat Day?

Why not tell us about your World Cat Day event by commenting on this blog post!

To celebrate the launch of an exciting new SureFlap product, the SureFlap Blog will soon be getting a makeover!

To start with, the name What’s New Pussycat is no more. We have now renamed our blog, Cat & Canine Chronicle. What do you think of our new name? Pretty cool eh?

In addition to our blog’s name change, we are also going to start sharing content about dogs as well as cats. Tomorrow we are launching an exciting contest that will give dog lovers something to bark about! There will also be some great prizes up for grabs! Our blog is gearing up to become a resource for cat and dog owners all over the world.

We love sharing relevant content with animal lovers and invite anyone that has an interest in cats or dogs to submit a guest post. We like to hear from people that have stories to tell about their own cat or dog, or those that have a specialist knowledge of pet care. We even accept posts written from a pet’s point of view!

If you would like to submit a guest post, please contact us here with a subject idea. If your topic is approved, we will then send you further submission guidelines.

We hope that you will like the changes we will be making. Let us know your thoughts by commenting on our blog!

Tim Scarff - SureFlap Technician

Hi, I’m Tim Scarff and I’m a Technician here at SureFlap! My passion for electronics started in the 80s and I’m using my knowledge to help develop new SureFlap products. I originally joined SureFlap on a temporary basis at the beginning of the year, but I became a full time, permanent member of staff in April.

I am an animal lover with a menagerie of pets at home! I have:

• Two 14 year old Birman cats called Billy and Casper
• A bearded dragon called Quagmire
• An old tortoise called Tommy who is at least 50 years old
• A rabbit called Wabbit
• A pond full of koi carp

I am a keen fisherman and I particularly enjoy fishing for carp. I’d love to go to the south of France – the carp there are HUGE! If I were a famous person, I’d be a TV fishing presenter so that I could share my passion and knowledge of fishing!

I like watching action adventure films such as Die Hard and Fast and the Furious and my favourite food is a big old roast with all the trimmings!

Say Hello to Tim

If you would like to say a special hello to Tim, just leave a comment on this blog post!

Hi there! I’m Charlotte Ashton and I’ve been working at SureFlap for a year today! To celebrate, I baked some muffins to share with the rest of the team. I work in the marketing department producing promotional materials, both printed and online, and I help to improve the functionality of SureFlap’s customer relationship management system.

Growing up we’ve always had lots of pets at home. At the moment we have two very spoilt Birman cats (Anubis and Isis), a rabbit called Beatrice and a Russian hamster called Zoe. I love them all, but I can’t wait to move out and get two of my own cats!

In my spare time, I enjoy running, cycling, knitting and crocheting. Last summer I completed the London to Cambridge bike ride, which was hard, but it gave me a great sense of achievement. I was taught to knit by my nana and my mum, and I love the feeling of finishing something and being able to say ‘I made that!’

I love trying different foods so it’s hard to pick a favourite. If I had to choose it would probably be Chinese or Thai cuisine, or maybe cheese… I enjoy watching films that end happily and I can have a good old cry on the sofa to, in particular Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually and 10 Things I Hate About You.

‘Everything happens for a reason’ and ‘Life is better when you’re laughing’ are two of my favourite sayings and if I were to describe myself in three words I’d say I am inquisitive, energetic and determined.

One of my most memorable holidays was a break in Spain that I took with the girls from university a few years ago. There were so many funny moments that made it so memorable!

If I had to pick an object I could not live without I’d have to choose shoes!

Say Hello to Charlotte!

If you would like to send a special message to Charlotte, please leave a comment below!