What does catflap mean?
A catflap — also written 'cat flap' — is a small hinged panel fitted into a door, window, or wall that allows a cat to enter and leave a house without human assistance. Typically a lightweight plastic or aluminium door on a pivot, it swings freely in both directions and may include a magnetic lock, a four-way locking mechanism, or a microchip sensor that opens only for a registered animal. Catflaps are a fixture of British domestic life, where letting the cat roam outdoors is common, though they are used worldwide under names such as 'cat door' and 'pet door'. The word is transparently formed from 'cat' plus 'flap', and its imagery is so familiar that it serves as shorthand in English for any narrow, undignified means of entry. Fitting one is a standard DIY job, and choosing among basic flaps, lockable models, and chip-activated versions is a minor rite of pet ownership.
nounA small hinged or swinging flap set in a door, wall, or window to allow a cat to pass in and out of a building on its own.
- A small hinged flap in a door or wall allowing a cat to enter and exit a building independently.
"We installed a catflap in the back door so the cat could come and go as she pleased."
"The cat pushed through the catflap with a jingle of its bell collar."
"Microchip-activated catflaps have made it easy to keep neighbourhood strays out of the house."
Regular plural; also 'cat flaps' when the two-word spelling is preferred.
"Most catflaps sold today come with adjustable tunnels to suit different door thicknesses."
The humble catflap has an aristocratic fan club: legend has it that Isaac Newton cut one for his cat at Cambridge — though historians say the story is almost certainly apocryphal.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of catflap
Catflap is a straightforward English compound of 'cat' (Old English 'catt', likely from late Latin 'cattus') and 'flap' (Middle English, of Germanic origin, denoting something broad and loose that hangs or swings). The compound arose naturally once flap doors were adapted for pets, becoming widespread in Britain during the twentieth century as household cat ownership grew. It shares its elements with other everyday compounds such as 'flapjack' and 'catnap' rather than belonging to any deeper word family.
How catflap is actually used
Written as two words ('cat flap') or closed ('catflap'), with the closed form increasingly common; both are accepted. The term is everyday and informal-neutral in register. 'Pet door' is more common in North America.
Easily confused with catflap
A doggy door is the same kind of device but sized and marketed for dogs rather than cats.