The items we use in our Barn Cat Program
We bought 10 of the big playpens. We purchased Amazon Prime membership for $79 per year and shipping is free. If you purchase one of these from Amazon — by entering here — Shelter Me Inc. will receive a commission, and we will put the money back into our barn cat program.
As for the blue cat carrier(s) - we remove the door and place it inside the cage. Feral cats need to have a place to hide and this size fits well onto the bottom of the cage. We thought it was cheaper to buy them on Amazon than in some of the big pet chains.
Here are pictures of this cage (and carrier) in use
We are pretty careful what we place in the acclimation cage…and we think these toy balls are sturdy enough to withstand cat play. If you buy these through this portal, Shelter Me receives a commission. It is small but every cent counts and we only feature items we have purchased (repeatedly) ourselves.
When we buy these scratcher posts - we tie them up against the side of the acclimation cage….five weeks is a long time to spend in the acclimation cage and we want to place items in the cage that offer visual and physical stimulation. We love the colors this company uses and we think their items are very well-priced.
We purchased these carpet covered house-like scratch posts on five or six occasions when we placed kittens in an acclimation cage. We wanted to give them a soft, safe haven that could double as a sort of jungle gym. Whenever we have placed these, we have left them with the barn owners because the cats’ scent is all over it and we just think it is the right thing to do. But it is an expensive investment for us because we are not able to recoop that expense. That is only one reason why donations are so important to us. The item on the right is our favorite for acclimating kittens; we have paid as much as $50 for them in the pet store chains. So, we think these are a good value for the price.
There is not a lot of room in the bottom of the cage, so we don’t buy large bowls; we use at least three small metal ones if there are two cats….one large bowl for water and two small bowls full of dry food at all times, so the cats can free-feed. Sometimes, these clamp cups are nice.
For litter boxes, we buy the disposable plastic ones in the supermarket for about $2.79 each and buy extra littler for it. They are smaller than the conventional ones and as we mentioned earlier, size is a major consideration in the cage. You also have to be very careful not to place the litter too close to the food. Cats do not like to have litter in their food. So, using a smaller than average box is advisable.
Sandy on April 29th 2009 in How to apply for a Shelter Me Inc Barn Cat
