Customer reviews for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Give your pets the freedom they deserve with a 4 way locking pet door designed for big cats and small dogs up to 22 lbs.
Overall rating:
(13 reviews) 13
2 of 13(15%)customers recommend this product.
Reviews for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Review 1 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
HORRIBLE PRODUCT!
May 24, 2012
by srchamplin
fromLong Beach, CA
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?3
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
I'm so upset about this product that I am writing my first-ever online product review. This cat door is absolutely terrible. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY! I just finished spending six hours trying to install it, and it's still a mess. The instructions are small and difficult to understand pictures (not sentences, not even words, just miniature pictures), the construction is incredibly cheap, and requires an absurd amount of uncommon tools. I attempted to glue the unit together, as none of the grooves pre-installed in it seem to hold, but even then it's still a janky piece of crud.
Seriously, don't bother with it. I'll be kicking myself for a while for not researching cat doors further before deciding what door to purchase.
Cons: difficult to assemble
Review 2 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Absolutely the worse design I have ever assembled
April 28, 2012
by Striker
fromWI
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?3
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Absolutely the worse design I have ever assembled. Do not buy this door. It is impossible to assemble the internal assembly and does not mate up with the external doors. I’m left with a hole in the door that hopefully I can find a competitors model to cover or PetSafe will buy me a door. I’m an engineer and I would never accept a design that is this difficult to assemble. The external door esthetics was a driving factor to purchase, however the creativity stops there. The clear plastic internal assembly allows you to see the cross braces inside the door that is not appealing at all. I could keep going with the negatives however I will not waste anymore of my time on this product.
Review 3 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Horrible!!!!
February 13, 2012
by Stumped
fromIllinois
Reviewer Images
This product is horrible!!!
The cat litter is in the laundry room right next to the kitchen. My wife is expecting and the odor really bothers her a lot. We figured we could keep the laundry door closed and install a cat door. So we thought this would be a perfect solution.
Then the nightmare began! The instruction was beyond incoherent and appears to be missing couple of steps. The plastic thing that goes between the door was impossible... it would not stay together... we tried using super glue and tape, but it does not seem to fit... it eventually cracked... so we ended up excluding it.
Then the magnet that stops the door from swinging was too strong that our cats could not open it... so we took out the magnet piece.
We really want to return this product, but if we did... then what are we to do with big hole in the door? Very disappointing. If you are reading this, we suggest not to waste your money and time on this product.
Cons: price, difficult to assemble, Too Much Space
Review 4 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Horrible design and instructions
January 14, 2012
by DonMV
fromCA
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?4
How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year
I am a pretty capable person, so I was surprised to find myself completely stumped for how to finish installing this, long after I cut a ten inch hole in my door. The enclosed instructions consist of a number of unclear drawings with no text. The only thing that saved me was a video on the Petsafe web site, which is completely different from the instructions in the box in some crucial ways. I still had to fudge a few things and feel like I got lucky to get this finished. Unless you need to punish yourself for something, find a different door.
Cons: difficult to assemble
Review 5 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Works Great
September 12, 2011
by Rella
fromSunbury, OH
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?5 or more
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
I'm very surprised by all the negative reviews on here. My husband installed this pet door without problem, which took him about 45 minutes. (Make sure you have the locking controls on the side of the door that is most convenient for you--we almost didn't think of that!)
It has worked great for months. We have had no problems with it and like it very much. It's very handy to be able to lock it if the cats need to be temporarily confined to one room for some reason.
Our cats love the freedom of being able to come and go as they please, so they are thrilled with the door. We plan to get more and install them in other interior doors within our home.
The closed doors with cat doors give our cats private rooms to have some dog-free zones if the dog gets too rambunctious for them (our dog is too big to fit through this door, which is what we wanted, since we just wanted it to be usable by the cats).
Pros: sturdy
Review 6 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Not difficult to install at all
May 22, 2011
by 3xcats3xlove
fromChandler, AZ
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?5 or more
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
I just watched my husband install this door single handed in less than 30 minutes. He didn't even need to look at the instructions.
The door works great.
Review 7 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Installation Fail
November 7, 2010
by smac182
fromBoston, MA
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?2
How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year
instructions have no words! no words, i'm serious!
Review 8 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
OMG it was Horrible!
October 24, 2010
by jagaf
fromMobile, AL
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?1
How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year
I'm 50 years old, extremely handy (woodworking, computers & appliance repair) and this one beat me like a dirty rug. If you value your sanity, do not, I repeat, do not, go near this product.
This pet door had to have been created by Lucifer. It took 4 hours to install in a standard interior door (hollow core). Four hours of cursing the day I cut a hole in my laundry room door. The last pet door I installed (different product / different home) took me about 30 minutes.
Try holding 6 pieces of ill-fitting flimsy plastic together while inserting 4 screws that must be cut off later with a hacksaw? Unless you have 6 hands you will have to use clear tape to hold it all together. Regardless, my fellow posters have already given you the details needed to make a sane decision, I just wanted to share with you the emotional damage you will surely suffer if you purchase this product. Tell your children, tell your neighbors...you have been warned.
This pet door had to have been created by Lucifer. It took 4 hours to install in a standard interior door (hollow core). Four hours of cursing the day I cut a hole in my laundry room door. The last pet door I installed (different product / different home) took me about 30 minutes.
Try holding 6 pieces of ill-fitting flimsy plastic together while inserting 4 screws that must be cut off later with a hacksaw? Unless you have 6 hands you will have to use clear tape to hold it all together. Regardless, my fellow posters have already given you the details needed to make a sane decision, I just wanted to share with you the emotional damage you will surely suffer if you purchase this product. Tell your children, tell your neighbors...you have been warned.
Pros: you can take it back.
Cons: you will have a hole in your door.
Review 9 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Poor Instructions and poor design
September 21, 2010
by phoneman
fromCalgary, Canada
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?2
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly
I wish I would have looked at the reviews on the net before purchasing this product..................
Bottom line is it took too long to install, instructions are bad, the plastic stip that goes around the curve broke on the second attempt to install(doesn't fit properly to start with), and the unit does not fit snuggly in the opening in the door. Not worth the 47.99!
If I didn't have a 260mm hole in my door I would return it as it's not worth the 47.99 or the amount of time it took to install it.
Bottom line is it took too long to install, instructions are bad, the plastic stip that goes around the curve broke on the second attempt to install(doesn't fit properly to start with), and the unit does not fit snuggly in the opening in the door. Not worth the 47.99!
If I didn't have a 260mm hole in my door I would return it as it's not worth the 47.99 or the amount of time it took to install it.
Pros: none
Cons: poor design, poor instructions
Review 10 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Worst cat door EVER!
February 24, 2010
by Arin
fromAustin
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?5 or more
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly
I bought this product in the store and didn't research it online at all. The other reviews are 100% correct, this is a horrible product. At present I have a 20 inch round hole in my laundry room door because I have given up trying to assemble the stupid thing. None of the plastic pieces fit together and installation requires holding the entire assembly together while inserting the screws. The worst part is the product's deficiencies did not become apparent till after I cut the hole in the door. Tomorrow I'm going to use super glue and if that doesn't work I'm going to return the product and hope something else will fit the gaping hole in my door.
Cons: poorly designed, difficult to assemble
Review 11 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Not for active pets!
January 6, 2010
by rin307
fromPA
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?5 or more
How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year
Ease of Assembly
Performance
Quality
My cats go through quite fast. I will often find the flap on the ground and have to snap it back in. I have had to replace it 3 times because I found the flap broken beyond repair. Unfortunately, it is installed in my garage door and I'm stuck continually buying it because the hole has been cut.
In addition to the flap snapping out, the locking mechanism also snapped out and broke.
As far as installation, I had my handyman (who is quite a perfectionist, is extremely knowledgable and does exemplary work) install it and he said that it was quite difficult for a pet door.
I would NEVER buy this product again!
Review 12 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Pure Junk! Don't waste your Money!
November 14, 2009
by Purrscilla
fromWestern Pennsylvania
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?1
How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year
Ease of Assembly
Performance
Quality
I concur 100% with the previous reviewer. Mine has parts that don't even fit correctly. Even if it had assembled "as advertised", the translucent tunnel would show everything in my hollow door. In all the things I ever assembled, I don't ever remember anything that required you cut-off screws with a hacksaw.
The tunnel section is it's worst part. It comes as two clear plastic holders and two flat strips of plastic (a short piece for the bottom and a longer one for the arch) that get inserted into the holders to form the tunnel. First, you have to measure the thickness of the door and cut the two strips to size. Then you have to try to snap the bottom and arch pieces into the slots of the clear plactic holder that's flimsy and hard to hold. It's impossible to assemble because the arch and bottom keep poping out of the holder. And that's only half the battle. The second clear plastic holder has to go on the other side to form the tunnel. Good luck in keeping everything aligned (and together) to insert the arch and bottom.
The wordless, pictorial instructions are totally worthless and provide no hints or suggestions to help with the assembly. You even have to cut the template out of the instructions. In comparison, I recently installed a small cat flap in another door in about an hour and the template was already cut to size and ready for use.
I'd take the whole mess back to the store and get my money refunded but I now have this 10+ inch hole in my cellar door and I doubt if there's another vendor's product that would fit it. It's going to take a lot of "creative engineering" to make this door work.
Review 13 for PetSafe Staywell 280 Series Big Cat/Small Dog 4 Way Locking Pet Door
Overall rating
Horrified
September 11, 2009
by Costa
fromSomerville, MA
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?5 or more
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly
Ease of Assembly
Performance
Quality
The was to be an easy assembly and magic instant door. Not a chance. Had to hire a carpenter and it took him all day. The directions were useless. The engineering (kids can do it mentality) my foot. Parts broke in his hands. Don't go by picture on box. It does not work with panel doors.
Pros: cheap
Cons: poor construction, not easy to assemble, not easy to install, looks terrible installed