Sold at Amazon.com
About $40
29-44 inches wide, 30 inches high
I have one area of the house where Gracie is not allowed to visit: the hallway leading to the guest bathroom. Kiki’s litter box is in a nearby room. Her food is in the bathroom. Both places are highly tempting to Gracie. Whenever Gracie is upstairs unattended, I place a child’s gate in the hallway. Gracie could easily jump it, but she knows not to do it.
Climbing over the cheapo child’s gate is a pain, though. I spotted a very nice pet gate in a pet supply catalog. It had a door you could open as well as a little opening at the bottom. The idea was the little opening could be used by a smaller pet while the large door would be closed. It seemed like the perfect idea.
It was a bit expensive though. Then, I spotted a similar gate on Amazon.com. Priced at $40 and shipped for free, the Carlson pet gate seemed like the thing for me. Well, it was not.
For starters, it was a colossal pain to install. Rescue Daddy and I both walked away from it a few times lest our tempers get the better of us, and we sling it into the yard. The gate has pressure tension spring thingies that pin into the wall (think shower curtain rod). Well, if you overextend them as you try to get a tight fit, the springs eventually get to the point where they simply will not turn any further.
Supposedly, when the springs are properly extended, the gap between the gate’s door and the gate will close, allowing you to then use the gate properly. We cannot get the gap to close, so we use an old sock to secure the door. Classy.
As for that little opening for a small pet…even though I carefully measured Gracie, she must have either slipped through the opening or jumped the gate. I found her standing on the wrong side of the gate one evening, wagging her tail and smacking her lips after devouring Kiki’s cat food. (Thankfully, it was not the litter box.)
The next night, I tried closing the little door and tying the big door shut. I left Kiki in the bathroom to eat her food. When I returned from the laundry room, I found Kiki sitting in the bedroom. I examined the gate. Kiki had head-butted the gate until she could squeeze through the opening and escape. You cannot win with this gate.
I am glad I only spent $40. If I had paid full price for this thing, I would be seriously mad. I still use the gate because I paid money for the darn thing, and it would cost too much to send it back. I definitely would NOT recommend the gate to anyone else, though. You have been warned.
Rescue Mommy
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