Flynn finally has a NIC cage!
I couldn't stand looking at everyone's wonderful cages here on RO and other places and feeling guilty. Flynn has immaculate litterbox skills, but he's been destroying my carpet lately, so I haven't been able to let him loose in my room when I'm not home (like I had originally planned). So, I decided to make him a NIC cage last night!
Old 36"x24" dog crate. All of the towels around it are to keep him from pulling the carpet. it looked very cluttered and I felt terrible leaving him in there when I was at class/work.
Supplies! Zip-ties and 3 boxes of grids from Target (on sale-$14.99 each). Fleece from Jo-Ann Fabrics.
Cleared out before construction. Look at all that empty space!
Finished product. 4x2 (56"x28") with a loft.
With doors open.
With just the top door open. (It hinges and swings up onto the roof)
Left side.
Right side.
Loft. (Every bachelor's gotta have one!)
Cute clips to keep the doors shut.
I love the new cage- he has so much room- enough to binky, even! It also looks much nicer in my room and the loft utilizes the height better. I used all 200 zip-ties (a little paranoid?) and actually ran out on the roof and doors, so I used paper clips (bent around the bars) to help secure it. It's pretty sturdy, but some parts of the top only have two or three zip-ties and I would like to buy more soon to make sure it's super-stable. I also didn't think about the fact that Flynn's ENTIRE HEAD can fit through the large grids. It's not a problem for the back or the side next to the wall, but he kept sticking his head through the roof above the loft, so I put the smaller grids on top for now. I'm just too lazy to take apart the entire roof and replace those three grids. Plus, I'm out of zip-ties so I can't.
I still need to get some linoleum or something to put under it- right now it's just a double layer of polyester fleece in some spots, although there is another double-layer and a rug covering most. He's excellent with his litterbox so I'm not TOO worried, but I'd hate for him to have an accident and ruin the carpet. There is a grid in each corner to help stabilize the cage and to keep him from digging up the fleece, by the way.