ᐅ Expensive Insect Screen Failed on the Cat – Is This Considered a Defect?

Hello!
We finally invested in “proper” insect screens for our new house so we can open the windows in the evening without inviting bloodsuckers inside.
We had these professionally measured and installed. It cost about 500€ for one window and a swinging door on the porch.

What we didn’t consider was our cat. It saw “oh, window open! cool, I want in” — followed by “oh, what’s this?” — then standing upright on the insect screen with extended claws.
Now the screen has multiple damaged spots—one even has a hole. 🙁

I probably can’t blame the installer since the screen is probably not designed for a cat to stand on it. On the other hand, I’m a bit disappointed considering the price that the material feels so weak and thin. Is this normal / something we have to accept?
I assume the screens can be recovered or replaced, but they are only about 2 months old, and given the price we paid, I’m a bit concerned about how much it would cost to fix this if I ask now.

Of course, you have to accept that. Or did the scope of work specify something like "scratch-resistant for house cats"?

seat88 schrieb:

Of course you have to accept that. Or did the specification say something like "cat-proof"?

No, of course not. The offer was not that detailed overall.
I am just a bit disappointed with the quality of the material. I had hoped that insect screens from a professional company would be of better quality than the mesh from dm for 1.99. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

kati1337 schrieb:

Hello!
We finally invested in proper insect screens for our new house so we can open the windows in the evening without letting in bloodsuckers.
We had a professional company measure and install them. For one window and a hinged door on the veranda, it cost about 500€ (around $530).

What we didn’t consider was our cat. It saw “oh, open window! Cool, I want to get in.” — followed by “what’s this?” — then it stood upright on the insect screen with its claws out.
Now the screen has several damaged spots — even a hole in one place. 🙁

I probably can’t blame the installer since the screen is not meant to be climbed on by a cat. On the other hand, I’m a bit disappointed given the price, that the material is so weak and thin. Is this normal / something we just have to accept?
I assume the screens can be re-covered, but they are only 2 months old, and considering what we paid, I dread asking how much it would cost to replace them now.

I would have expected this topic from any other “newcomer” but not from you. However, I also believe you don’t really mean the term “defect” seriously.

We recently discussed this with our window installer, and he immediately said that even the more expensive screens cannot withstand cats. At the mention of cats, he advised against installing insect screens.

For cats, you can attach individual magnets at their height. This way, they can see the fly screen better and won’t get so annoyed. Alternatively, it is also possible not to have a fly screen on the ground floor at the bottom for the cat. Mosquitoes hardly make it up the stairs (at least in our case, which I find a pleasant phenomenon).