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Cat Door Installation Cost: What a Cut-In Door Really Buys You

Name: Door Buddy® Cat Door Prop
Brand: Door Buddy
SKU: DB-DOG-PROPW
Price: 20.99 USD
Availability: InStock

By: Door Buddy Editors | Published: September 25, 2026

White cat stepping through a cat-shaped opening cut into an interior door.

You've priced out a cat door. Somewhere between the first quote and the fine print about "labor may vary by door type," you started wondering if there's a version of this that doesn't involve a saw.

There is. But it's worth knowing exactly what a cut-in interior cat door costs first — in money, and in the parts of the invoice nobody mentions until the hole is already there.

What a Cut-In Cat Door Actually Costs

A cut-in cat door for a standard interior door typically runs $150 to $500 installed, according to home-services cost guides — and that range climbs fast depending on what you're cutting into:

Door type: a hollow-core interior door is the cheapest cut; solid wood, glass, or an exterior door costs more in both materials and labor.
Size: a small 6" x 6" cat door runs toward the low end; a large 10" x 12" opening for a bigger cat (or a household with a big dog you're also hoping to keep out) can push toward $1,000.
Location: cutting into a door is the cheapest option. Cutting into a window runs $350 to $1,000, and a wall $200 to $1,300, since it usually means framing, sealing, and weatherproofing that a door doesn't need.
Cat door type: the cat door itself accounts for $20 to $400 of that, from a basic swinging model up to a locking or saloon-style one.

None of that includes what happens if the first cut is in the wrong spot, or if the door needs to be replaced entirely because it's hollow-core and the opening compromises it structurally.

The Real Cost Isn't Just the Invoice

Cat squeezing through a cut-in cat door — the same size opening a small or medium dog can also fit through

A cut-in interior cat door is a permanent modification. Once the hole is there, it's there — through a move, a resale, or a landlord's final walkthrough. For a rental, that's a security deposit at risk on top of whatever the installation itself cost.

And a cut-in door doesn't solve the problem most people are actually trying to solve. Cat doors require cutting a permanent hole in your door — and they don't stop all dogs. A hole sized for your cat is very often a hole a small or medium dog can fit through too, which means keeping the dog out of the litter box, the food, or the room is still unsolved.

The No-Cut Alternative: Door Buddy Cat Door Prop

The Door Buddy Cat Door Prop reuses the door frame's existing strike-plate screw holes — the same holes already there for your door's latch. No new holes, no cutting, no permanent modification. Installation takes a standard screwdriver and the included Torx wrench, and it comes off just as cleanly as it goes on. (Full step-by-step: Door Buddy Cat Door Prop Installation Guide.)

Door Buddy Cat Door Prop installed on a door frame, holding the door open just enough for a cat — no cutting or drilling

One customer put it this way after years of trying to solve the same problem the hard way: "I have ruined so many doorways, so many walls. I have put so many holes in my house just trying to keep my 3 Rottweilers out of the cat poop. This is literal heaven on earth."

What the Cat Door Prop solves is the part a cut-in interior cat door can't: your cat gets through, it helps keep the dog out, and your door goes back to normal the day you decide you don't need it anymore.

It's the original no-cut cat door alternative, assembled in the USA, and covered by our 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee.

Cut-In Cat Door vs. Door Buddy Cat Door Prop

	Cut-In Cat Door	Door Buddy Cat Door Prop
Typical cost	$150–$500 (door), $350–$1,000 (window), $200–$1,300 (wall)	$20.99
Installation	Professional cut, or a DIY kit + saw	Screwdriver + included Torx wrench
Permanent modification	Yes — cannot be undone	No — reuses existing screw holes
Rental-friendly	No	Yes
Opening size	Fixed — cut once to one size	Adjustable from about 3 to 5.5 in, so you can set the gap to your cat and help keep a larger dog out

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Which Setup Fits Your Household

If you'd rather not use any tools at all, the Dog Door Strap + Door Stopper Combo installs with adhesive alone and works on standard swinging interior doors, plus bifold, sliding, pocket and double doors. It's strong once the adhesive has cured. However, because it mounts with adhesive, a dog that slams into the door or yanks on it is a better match for the Cat Door Prop, the stronger option for large or determined dogs. Multi-door households — a litter box room and a food station, say — typically start with one and add more once it works; the Cat Door Prop 3-Pack Bundle covers that at a lower per-unit cost than buying three separately.

If you're weighing this because you rent, you're not alone — customers describe this exact situation often: "I didn't want to drill holes... we rent." No-cut, no-drill was the whole reason this category exists. If you're also working with a small apartment layout, Where to Put a Cat Litter Box in a Small Apartment tackles the placement side of that same problem.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a cat door installation worth the cost?

If you need a pet door in an exterior door so your cats and dogs can come and go outside, yes, a cut-in pet door is the right tool for that job. Door Buddy is built for interior doors. For an interior door, it depends on what you need it to do. A cut-in door gives your cat permanent, unattended access to a space — useful if that's specifically what you want. If the goal is keeping a dog out while your cat still gets in, a cut-in hole often doesn't solve that, since many small and medium dogs can fit through an opening sized for a cat.
Can I install a cat door myself to save money?
Will this work on my door if I decide to remove it later?
What if my dog is small enough to fit through a cat-sized gap?
Does this work on any door?

The Bottom Line

A cut-in cat door for an interior door costs real money, can't be undone, and still doesn't reliably keep a determined dog out. The Door Buddy Cat Door Prop solves the same access problem for $20.99, installs with a screwdriver in minutes, and leaves your door exactly as it was if you ever remove it. It's the original no-cut cat door alternative, assembled in the USA, backed by over 1 million products sold and 50,000+ positive reviews, and covered by our 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee.

Shop the Door Buddy Cat Door Prop →

If you want to see the fuller range of general litter-box setups first, 5 Dog-Proof Litter Box Options for Busy Pawrents is a good next read.

External reference for the installation cost figures cited above: HomeGuide — How Much Does It Cost to Install a Cat Door?

FIND THE BEST DOOR BUDDY FOR YOUR HOME

Tired of playing door referee? Door Buddy is how the litter box stays cat-only — no cutting, no holes, no new door for your cat to learn. Find the right fit for your dog below and take back control of your space.