Screen doors are a lovely way to enjoy the outside weather and maintain the air quality of your home -- but they can be a difficult proposition for pet owners. Whether you have dogs or cats, you've probably experienced a shredded screen door sometime in the past. Luckily, there are many options available today for pet proofing your screen doors so both you and your pets can enjoy them.

Install a Pet Door

Even screen doors can have pet doors attached, though they do need to be of a more sturdy (and therefore often expensive) construction. Many pets damage screen doors not because they want to break the screen itself, but because they want to go outside. This is especially true of cats. A pet door will let them go in and out as desired, so they don't attempt to scale it instead.

Get a Higher Gauged Door

Screen doors are made of a fine mesh. The thinner the gauge of the mesh, the weaker and more transparent the screen. The thicker the mesh, the more durable it is. You can find screen door that have a very thick mesh, which are designed specifically for households with pets. The mesh on these doors are designed to be thick enough that cats won't damage them when they climb them, and durable enough that the screen won't break if something heavy (such as a dog) runs into it. 

Put In a Hanging Screen Door

The purpose of a screen door is really just to let in the air while keeping out insects and other nuisances. A hanging screen door serves these purposes a little differently from a traditional screen door. Rather than being installed like an ordinary door, a hanging door hangs from the top of the frame and seals with a magnetic strip. To move through this door, you simply push right through it --  it then returns to its original position, blocking out mosquitoes and other pests. Hanging screen doors are a great choice for pet owners who are concerned that their dogs may just run straight through a more fragile door.

Screen doors have come a long way in just the past decade. Not only are there new pet-friendly products designed for pet parents, but there are also more durable screen doors in general. Before you decide that a screen door may not be possible in your home, you may want to visit a show room to see their array of products.

For more information, contact Door Depot Of SW FL Inc or a similar company.