How to Install a Cat Door in a Wood Screen Door

We have two beautiful indoor/outdoor cats that love their freedom. I was getting tired of letting them in and out during the day, and the front cabin also did not come with any screen doors. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and install a cat door in a wood screen door. This post will show you how I added a cat door to an new inexpensive wood screen door from Home Depot.

Meet the Cats:

But first, would you like to meet the cats? This is Panda. He goes by Panda Bear and also Big Bear because he’s a hefty dude with a loud purr. Panda is a rescue that had been in an accident before we got him that required most of his tail to be amputated. He enjoys fresh sink water and requests it daily. Here he is at the bathroom sink where you can see his short tail.

This is Foxee cat. She’s a sweetheart that can’t hunt for the life of her! She enjoys slapping small mice but does not kill them. Rats are too big and scary for Foxee. She loves sunbeams and wood stoves in the winter. 90 degree days in the summer are her jam. Here is a nice photo I snapped of Foxee enjoying a sunbeam.

Panda and Foxee and good friends. Here they are on their bedtime cat tower. They let us know when it’s time to go to bed.

Wood Screen Door:

Ok, back to the topic at hand: a cat door install in a wood screen door. The wood screen door I am using is a 36 inch x 80 inch Piedmont unfinished pine screen door that I found at Home Depot for under $95. It comes with a fiberglass screen already installed. But I ripped that out to install a black pet screen just in case the cats don’t understand the cat door and start scratching.

If you pull the screen and spline out carefully, you might be able to reuse the spline like I did. Otherwise, if you plan to replace the screen, make sure to get some backup spline just in case and a spline roller.

The cat door will go between the center verticals and at the bottom of the screen door. Since the cat door has very specific screw locations to connect the cat door to a wood frame, I needed to thicken up the screen door verticals by adding extra wood on each side. I simply measured out amount of extra wood I needed and divided that by two for the thickness of wood to add on each side. Then I ripped those small wood pieces on a table saw and brad nailed them to the screen door verticals.

Lastly, the cat door should have a wood support across the top and bottom. The bottom of the screen door works well here. For the top, I added a horizontal wood piece and brad nailed that in place.

Here is a close up look at the trim pieces I added after I painted the door.

Since the door will be painted, it doesn’t really matter what type of wood I use. If you are going to stain your door, try to use the same or like wood as the door to keep the stain consistent.

Here I am painting the wood door frame with the installed framing for the cat door black. I am using Blackout Black by Behr from Home Depot in an exterior satin finish. Blackout black is a true black black in my opinion.

Cat Door:

I will be using a white plastic cat door with a 4-way lock system found on Amazon.com. Since the cat door is plastic, I am able to tape off the clear swinging door and spray paint the plastic frame to any color I want. I spray painted the cat door frame black in a semi gloss to match.

Install a Cat Door in a Wood Screen Door:

Installing the cat door in a wood screen door is really easy once you have the added wood trim in place. Make sure you pre-dill screw holes per the cat door locations to avoid splitting the wood. Then screw the cat door in place!

The Reveal – Finished Cat Door in a Wood Screen Door:

Here is the installed cat door in a wood scree door! You can see the two stainless steel hinges I used to connect the door to the trim. I also added a small galvanized door pull on the right side.

On the interior, I installed a black pneumatic door closer to slowly close the door and keep it from slamming.

This is a closer view of the installed cat door from the inside. You can see it blends in really well with the rest of the door. Foxee is out on the back deck beyond my painter’s plastic tarp.

I managed to get a quick photo of Foxee running through the cat door on the first day it was installed. I pushed her through it a few times. From there she figured it out. Good job cat!