Well,
 
I've been flooded with requests on how I made my PVC cage....so I decided
that I would just post all the instructions.
 
But first....a question.  I have a carpet scratcher and have been looking
for bitter apple in an attempt to curb this behaviour.  One doorway's
carpet is ruined already...he seems to have zoned in on ONE spot....Anyway,
I've not been able to find bitter apple spray however I did find stuff
called "4 Paws Repellent".  I didn't purchase it for fear of it hurting my
fuzz-bucket.  IT SAYS RIGHT ON THE CAN NOT TO GET IN ON SKIN, AND IF YOU
DO....W*A*S*H!!!!  Will this stuff hurt the tender (oh ya, right tender)
skin of my critter?
 
Now...the cage.
 
The trick to getting a PVC cage to work is using elbows AND T connectors at
each corner.
 
The elbows need to be adaptors, so (looking from the top) you attach your
elbow to the T like this:
 
    __________
    |         |------
    |         |----  |
    -----------    |_|
        T       Elbow
 
You need eight of these combinations to make a box.  Then I took 4,  5 foot
and 8,  2.5 foot lengths and made a frame that is 5 feet by 2.5 feet by 2.5
feet and put together the box frame.
 
I purchased 20 feet of chicken wire which I wrapped around the bottom of my
frame using wire ties to attach it as a got around the whole frame.  If I
were to do this again, I would use the plastic ties used on pipes and wires
that you thread through themselves and pull.  I then flipped the frame
upside down and did the same thing, so I had a box with chicken wire on four
sides and and empty top and bottom.
 
I then went to the local fabric store and purchased a thick latex material
that I put on the carpet under the cage.  (Quick and easy cleaning, I just
lift the cage, fold the bottom and take it outside to wash down and dry.  It
also protects the carpet from ferret claws!)
 
I wired two baby gates to the top (I have no baby but had these hanging
around) and staple gunned one last piece of chicken wire to the baby gates
in the gap that was left over leaving enough unstapled that I can open the
top for the critter to get out.  When I need to lock him in the cage I
simply slide one piece PVC through the mesh of the baby gates and through
one chicken hole on either side of the chicken wire.
 
It took me about 45 minutes to put togther and cost less than $30 and the
critter has over 10 feet of run around space AND its easy to add to the
structure to give him more space, more floor and what not.  It also comes
apart for storage and moving.
 
Cheers!
Matthew.
 
    =======================================================================
 
             "Madness takes its toll.  Please have exact change."
 
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                             J. Matthew Saunders
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    =======================================================================
[Posted in FML issue 1746]