Midwest Cat Playpen: A Cage with 3 Adjustable Perching Shelves for Your Feline Friend

Kristin Baldridge: So, I live in a condo and my cat is a bird watcher and loves to sit in the window for hours. I got this for her to enjoy the patio, but safely. First of all, it was a pain in the neck to put together, but mostly because the panels had stuck together with the brackets. I literally had to pry them apart to separate the panels. Took me awhile to figure out what was happening and why I couldn't open it like the instructions said. After I finally figured it out, I used a long flat head screw driver to do some prying. This was also helpful in fastening the trays the cat can jump or lay on to the frame. I had to use the screw driver to pry the hooks onto the frame. That made it much easier. I also secured it in a few places with some zip ties for extra security. But overall seems pretty sturdy and secure.

You can do it alone, as I have proven, even though they suggest 2 people put it together. And for the record, I'm not a handy person who is any good at putting stuff together, so if I can do it, anyone can! But you'll need some patience. And a flathead screw driver for prying.

United States on Oct 09, 2023

KELLY: Feral kittens is fabulous

Canada on Sep 15, 2023

Krazy Kitty LadyKrazy Kitty Lady: I bought this crate because I foster LOTS of kittens and cats, and I needed another option for them. Its a complete pain in the @$$ to assemble. It would probably be easier with a helper. I used a few zip-ties to secure the corners for stability. Also, one shelf was UN-USABLE (see photos). I bought an additional shelf & bed, so luckily I still have 3 usable shelves. My only complaint is that there are 3 shelves and ONE BED. Why??? Just provide 3 beds with the crate. I've written to the company about the broken shelf.... No reply yet. Overall, it's a decent product, and I would buy again... i just wish they designed it better.

United States on Sep 08, 2023

Roger Waters: Very time consuming and frustrating trying to install casters - hard to thread nuts onto bolts because there is very little thread exposed after bolts are inserted through the caster mount and backing plates. The thread section of the bolts supplied with my unit were 1/2” - mounting plates had to be squeezed together very tightly with fingers in order to have some chance of getting the nuts started. Luckily I found some bolts in my garage with 5/8” of thread which made it easier to get nuts started. With the 5/8” bolts the nuts were much easier to get started but once the nuts are tightened and the mounting plates are compressed together the ends of the end of the bolts come within a gnats eyebrow of interference with top of caster cover. I plan to cut off the excess exposed threads with a Dremel tool if they become a problem. Also ditto to the u the cage sides together. I think I used about 25 zip ties total

United States on Aug 12, 2023

Dayna CrossleyDayna Crossley: It was fairly easy to put together, although I had two friends help. Because someone has to hold it in place while the other person clips it together. I didn’t bother putting the wheels on it. It now is in balcony and my cats can hang out there with me. They enjoy the view and bring outside. I don’t worry about the escaping.

I just wish the attachable cat rug came for each ledge, instead of just one.

Canada on Jul 13, 2023

Rachel: -Update- I have had this cage for well over a year now and despite the initial flaws & wobbliness it has held up. I don't mean held up in the sense that its fine for occasional use either - my 8.5year old adult cat lived full-time in this cage for about 5months while we were struggling with her spraying and anxiety issues. It gave her enough space to lounge, eat & drink, and I even put a scratcher in there with her & a giant litter box.

After the first 5 months we progressed to just locking her in at night time or for very long periods when I was out the house. The doors are huge which meant that cleaning this was very easy and accessible - which was important as this cat would still periodically spray outside of her litterbox on her bed/etc. while inside the cage from time to time.

Basically, this cage helped us overcome a very dark period in this cat's life so for that I'm thankful. For my needs I would buy at full price, but if you are just looking for a patio cage to get your cats some fresh air I would definitely wait for a sale.

It moves & makes jiggling noises when the inhabitant moves from level to level, because the quality is not...

Canada on Sep 14, 2014

5pennies: I'm writing this to thank all of those who previously reviewed this product - they helped me make an informed decision when buying it.

After getting my husband to release a hook that had been pushed out of place during shipping (making it impossible to separate the layers of wire grid and pull them upright) I put it together by myself in about an hour. I found the wheels tricky to attach so I used scotch tape to hold the bolts and the two plates in place over the grid while I fastened the nuts. I had to use pliers and a screwdriver together, to get the nuts tight enough. I'd suggest adding this advice in the instructions.

It was tricky to raise the pieces and hold them in place while I hooked everything together and the advice about tie wraps/twist ties was invaluable: so THANK YOU for the person who provided that.

I have raised this kitten since it was just hours old (feral, left by the mother, found under a wheelchair ramp at a hospital). At about 3 and a half weeks, I put her in the bottom of the enclosure in a cat carrier with the door open so I could supervise her activity and still close the door when I couldn't be there. After about ten days, she was...

Canada on Sep 23, 2013

lilita: Buy one! As a foster for a non profit rescue organization, this is already proving itself to be an invaluable item. It is very simple to assemble and fold down again. Having the casters that can be locked in place is great. It's perfect for housing larger litters of kittens or at least 3 full sized cats at various adoption events, and even I can fold it down and get it in and out of a vehicle without too much difficulty.

My current fosters are a mother and her 8 kittens and I've taken the playpen out on the patio so they can safely experience the warm sun, the scents, sounds and breezes - and go nuts watching the birds and the bees! It's also very handy to pop them all in when I want to vacuum or open the window in the room to air it out thoroughly.

The design has been well thought out. Accessing any area, top or bottom, is simple as there are 4 doors - 2 up and 2 down, which are very secure with their extra little catches to hold everything in place. The tray at the bottom of the playpen locks into place too, but slides out very easily for cleaning.

There are 2 things I would comment on:

1: It's not easy for little kittens to get up from the floor to...

Canada on Aug 18, 2012

JPS: Ok, I read the reviews before I bought this and knew I would need cable ties to put it together, so I bought some even before I looked at the directions. Then, when it came time to put it together, I thought I'd try without the cable ties first just to see if it was possible. I got it almost all together, when the whole entire thing just fell apart. So then I started over, using cable ties as I went, so it wouldn't fall apart again. When I was almost done, I realized that some of the sections looked like they weren't matching up as they should, and I noticed that I had put it together wrong, or at least not in the best way. This is why:

There are little "D" shaped hooks at the corners that hold the sides together. At first, I figured they'll hook on to just wherever they seemed to match up on the opposite panel, but this won't work. Unless it's in the right place, the cage will fall apart. I believe this is why some reviewers said the cage would just fall apart. Here is the right place: the "D" shaped hooks go directly UNDER a horizontal wire. That latches them in, and makes the cage quite sturdy even without cable ties. I used cable ties to loosely hold things together...

United States on May 29, 2011