This DIY pet door helps maintain a canine out of the cat’s litter field

Science Buddies had an issue: their tiny little pug loves consuming their cat’s poop. As a result of the pug is smaller than the cat, they couldn’t merely put the litter field behind a tiny cat door. In order that they got here up with a extra subtle answer: a motorized door triggered by a magnetic collar.

Riley the pug’s responses to poop entry prevention are awfully pugnacious, however she can also be fairly skittish. Science Buddies surmised {that a} cardboard door can be sufficient to cease her. However that may additionally cease Bother the cat, so the door wanted to stay open for Bother and solely shut when Riley tried to enter the world with the litter field. After experimenting with a couple of completely different options, Science Buddies landed on servo-actuated cardboard doorways that shut within the presence of a robust magnetic area.

That magnetic area comes from a everlasting magnet dangling from Riley’s collar. An Arduino UNO Rev3 board detects that magnet utilizing a number of Reed switches organized alongside the underside fringe of the door body. When the magnet causes the Reed switches to shut, the Arduino is aware of that Riley is attempting to get to the cat poop. In then closes two cardboard doorways utilizing small pastime servo motors.

It took some tinkering to place the Reed switches in a approach that they’d set off persistently, however Science Buddies discovered a dependable setup in the long run. Now every time Riley makes an attempt to get to the litter field, the cardboard doorways slam in her lovable pug snoot and he or she abandons her quest.