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Walk-In uses: Studs,
long-term rescues, nervous cats who need crate training,
as a household kitty hang-out, etc.
2-way Split uses: Kittens, rescues
temporary housing for any cat who needs it.
4-way Split uses: Isolation cages,
short term housing for new rescues. |
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This is my large kennel that I built
with the instructions below. It's 6'x3'x6' and designed
to be modular. I can split it into two tall kenels,
two long kennels, four 3 foot square kennels, or
leave it all one big walk in. Most of the time it
is one large kennel with several shelves, lots of
beds and the litter boxes. (I added a ramp to the
top after one of my larger girls strained her sholder
jumping all the way down.) The doors are open all
day and the cats love having "their" space.
When there are kittens due I add three
long shelves for a floor to split it in half length-wise
and add a ramp to the shelf, as shown above. It's
a large enough space for the kittens to really get
playing, and small enough that they can not get
dropped by mom or hurt by other cats. The bottom
is left open for the other cats, and still has the
litter boxes in it. The top is always covered in
plastic runner (from Home Depot) so that they can
walk without getting stuck. I put carrier beds or
a blanket up there and the cats love to hang out
way up high.
Safe
Cat Enclosure
by
Marva Marrow, KittyKouch.com
(my
comments in italics)
Get the ventilated, covered wire shelving
at Home Depot. They have the best prices and selection.
You should be able to rent a truck from Home Depot
for 75 minutes for just $19.95 -- a great way to
get this stuff home easily. I would highly recommend
renting the truck unless you have a truck or van
already as the pieces are long and the cut ends
can scratch your vehicle's interior..
Note: Lowes also has these shelves,
they run about $4.50 each for a 1'x6' length
Supplies Needed:
- Tapemeasure
- Zip-ties (a.k.a. cable ties. I suggest a
bag of 1000, but 100-200 would do)
- Scissors or a zip-tie tool (rose cutters
work really good)
- Pre-cut shelve lengths
- Plastic end-caps (You'll find these near
the shelving)
- Plastic runner or carpet (for interior shelves.
Runner comes in 2.5' lengths, so you may have
to overlap a little. The plastic is ideal for
kittens because it is easy to clean and sterilize.)
- Latches for the doors
Tips for getting prepared:
- For latches to latch the doors I use one or
two oval shaped springloaded bright colored
rings that I got at Home Depot) (I use large
binder clips)
- Shelf pieces come in 4', 6' and 8' lengths
(Lowes even has 12'), but they can cut to any
size in the store (you can't cut these yourself
later as you need REALLY heavy duty clippers,
so calculate everything correctly before you
go!)
- Shelf widths are 12", 16" and 20"
(The 12" width is the most cost effective
and the sturdiest, and makes the calculations
very easy)
- Draw a diagram with all the pieces marked,
so you know what you need.
- You will need two 12" pieces to create
the doors. These pieces should not be latched
tightly to the neighboring piece, so you can
swing them and the shelf lip should be pointing
outward so you can latch it. (You would
use four doors if you plan on spliting your
kennel. The example at the top has four 3' doors)
- Put shelf end caps on all the rough ends (I
put them on all ends, for look and for protection
against rust, scraping on floors, etc.) You
might want to even glue them on, sonce they
come off kind of easily.
Building Your Cage:
You can build one wall (I generally
start with the back one) and then build a side and
attach. Build the other side and attach. Build the
front and attach. And lastly attach the roof, then
latch the pieces adjoining the doors to the roof.
Build the walls so that the corners have the lips
facing toward the inside of the cage (so the corners
"cup" around each other and create stability).
The middle sections should have the lips facing
outward so that any shelves you put inside can fit
against the "wall" more snugly. This is
not absolutely crucial and may not be possible always,
but it just makes it easier to fit the shelves and
secure them.
Example of a 6'x3'x6'
kennel
For the ceiling, I put the back section
on first with the lip downward to secure the fit.
The middle and front pieces should have the lip
pointing upward so you can secure the pieces to
the walls below without gap and so that the front
piece does not inhibit the movement of the doors.
(The edge with the lip is the strongest. For
stability of the roof when cats walk on top of it,
I suggest having one lip at every junction rather
than leaving a junction with both flat edges, if
possible)
I suggest staggering the shelves so
that your cats can have more variety in heights
and can also run across the shelves from one side
of the enclosure to the other. I left room for a
tall scratching post to fit under one of the shelves
on one side and you can vary according to your needs.
You may have to work the shelves in as they may
be a tight fit, but the walls are flexible to some
extent. Adding and securing the shelves will further
stabilize the whole construction. (Remember
when adding full length shelves or floors half-way
between to check and make sure your doors can still
shut before you secure everything. If you know you
want a floor halfway down, you may want to have
those pieces cut one inch shorter, but no more than
that.)
Use a sufficient number of ties and
when you are done, clip them short so they look
good and aren't in the way for the cats. I added
the shade cloth, which comes down on the side a
couple of feet and is secured with clips. This way,
you can adjust it according to the season and direction
of the sun.
That's about it! To me, this enclosure
encompasses the best in ease of construction, cost,
ease of cleaning/maintenance, sturdiness and stability
and SAFETY for my cat "kids.."
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