MidWest Homes for Pets Folding Metal Indoor Cat Playpen, Cage Includes Locking Wheels, 3 Platforms, Removable Tray, Plush Bed, Suited for 1–3 Cats

This is an outstanding cat playpen that exactly suits my cats' needs, although I ended up spending extra on accessories (see below). I selected this playpen because I trust Midwest due to our high quality Midwest dog crate, and also for this playpen's competitive price, 4 secure-fasten doors, slide-out bottom tray, size/height, and wheels with brakes. I found it easy to assemble this by myself, although I have a knack, take my time, and follow instructions.This cat playpen does not need any zip ties at all, and is extremely sturdy, well-designed, and 100% safe with no jagged or sharp corners/edges. I wheel this playpen all over my one story ranch home as needed with my cats inside it. I have 3 adult cats who like to sleep in it at night, and a few who sometimes use it in the daytime. These cats range 9-13 pounds. If traveling, I can add a fourth cat to this playpen, but I'd buy a third cushion.ACCESSORIES: I ended up buying an extra cushion (identical to the one that comes with it) as well as the Midwest vertical/slanted "exit" ramps for ferrets (with washable aqua covers). (I superglued the rubber protective covers to the feet of those ramps for extra safety.) Those ramps fit fairly well in this cage and help 3 cats navigate around each other. I also added a hammock up top, 2 stainless steel crate food/water bowls that attach to the crate, and a cardboard box "cat bed" on the bottom to keep kitty litter from flinging into the bottom tier cat bed.If I need to evacuate for another hurricane, I will take both crates (playpen and dog crate) to keep all my cats safe, so it's great that they are easily foldable for the trip, and I'm keeping the instructions handy in case we have to evacuate in a rush.

I adopted a family of 4 stray kittens and their feral mother when a coworker found them in his back shed while cleaning up after Hurricane Matthew. I keep the family enclosed in a spare room separate from my 3 resident cats while getting them all of their shots and their spaying/neutering, but I needed the first cage to hold the mother while she recovered from her spaying so that the kids wouldn't accidentally harm her surgical site. The base level is big enough to have a litter box, small bolster bed, and food bowls for a newly-recovering cat. Having levels helped me keep the cage clean thereafter. If you've ever tried to house a cat in a "one room" style of enclosure with a litter box, some bedding, and food and water, you KNOW all of those items will mix, and cleanup is a constant and messy endeavor. This playpen gives you space to have the bedding area up off the bottom, and keep the food away from the litter as well. You just have to refresh the litter and clean the bottom tray.Now it's time to spay/neuter the 4 kittens. I want to do them all at one time because I have a week off for the holidays to care for them, so I ordered three more playpens. I figure I can use them later to help integrate the kittens with my regular cats OR I could donate a couple to my vet's office or something. The kittens go off to their operations tomorrow but they have already been playing in the playpens for the last couple of days. To each playpen, I added a hammock, a small litter box, 2 or 3 ramps, and hanging bowls for food and water. I consider the hanging bowls a "must" because otherwise food and water will end up on the bottom and again you have a mess to clean up. But at least it's easy to remove the tray...Other notes: 1) Putting it together by myself was an exercise in frustration. I'm mechanically inclined but I would say you need two people just so one can hold the opposite side from the one you're working on. Given its size, I can't remove a star for that. 2) If you want the casters to be secure you'll need a screwdriver and a ratchet to tighten the bolt which I don't remember the instructions saying anything about. I could be wrong so I also didn't remove a star for that. 3) With two people, it took about 15 minutes per playpen to get it all together. 4) Some people have mentioned cats getting paws stuck in the corners. That is tragic. My cats have so far been OK although I will of course continue to check on them.

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 until I latched them in at the right place, then I removed the cable ties (I have the kind with a release, so they're reusable). If I had someone helping me, I probably wouldn't need cable ties at all.The platforms seem sturdy. They support the weight of my 10-lb cat with no problems, but I may add some cable ties there later, just for peace of mind.How did the cats like it? My adventurous cat, Tarzan, couldn't wait for me to finish putting it together. I had to keep the doors closed so he wouldn't go in there until I was done. Then, when I finished, I opened the doors and he went right in and played and played. It took him a little while to figure out how to jump from platform to platform, but he got it. He really liked the bed that came with it. My lazy scardey-cat, Jayne, ran away and hid once the cage fell apart when I first tried to put it together (it made a loud noise). After I was done, she came out timidly, got close enough to sniff it, and then ran away. Later, I put her in the bottom of the cage and petted her, and she was okay for about 30 seconds before she wanted out. It's going to be a process with her. She won't even use a new bed for months. She won't even touch a new bed for months. She doesn't like new things. Whenever she hears the metal sound of me opening or closing the doors, she runs away. She is a very atypical cat, though. Don't pay attention to her. My other cat loves it, and goes in there voluntarily.Overall, Pluses:*Great value for the money*Large size*Does assemble without zip ties*Feels sturdy (if assembled the correct way)*Doors latch securely, but simple enough for a human to open and close*Doors also on the top level, so gives easy access to upper platforms*Double doors are also very wide, taking up almost a whole side. Or, you can open only one at a time.*Bed is very nice. Velcros to the platform, easy for a human to remove*Slide-out tray at the bottom for easy cleaning*Adjustable platforms, so you can raise or lower them*Folds flat for storage or travel. All the side panels are permanently connected to the bottom, so you don't have to figure out which panel is the side, which is the top, etc. Everything is connected. You just have to connect the corners to assemble.*Additional zip-ties may be used for added sturdiness and/or peace of mind, especially at the top and on the platformsMinuses:*Directions it came with are pretty much useless. It doesn't tell you how to properly put it together. Now that I look again, there IS a picture of where the "D" shaped clip is supposed to go, but it wasn't made clear at first how important the location of the clip is, in relation to the horizontal wires. A person would assume that clip could go anywhere on the corner. The directions also tell you to add the wheels pretty much last, although I wish I had put the wheels on first as the cage is huge!*Might be difficult for one person to put together, unless using zip-ties to temporarily hold the panels together*The top still doesn't seem to fit 100% perfectly, but 90% is close enough for me. I feel fine leaving the top panel with no zip ties, but another owner may want to put a couple zip ties up there just in case.*A couple latches are just hanging around, and I'm not sure what they're supposed to be used for yet. The directions don't mention them. (They're the small latches at the bottom of the short sides, if anyone else can leave me a comment and let me know what those are for.)*One door latch is stuck. I'll have to get some pliers and fix that. I'm sure this is just a fluke, and should be an easy fix.*I wish the platforms were a few inches wider, but my cat seems to like it fine the way it is