Super sturdy, nice ventilation, sturdy cover but 1.5# 8wk old kitties can jump out w/ cover open
The plan was to get this for our foster kitties as a night time sleeping pen. We purchased 29" high vinyl playpen panels and configured them to connect with this so with the door panel of this open, they have access to both that large play area and this playpen area as well. Our overall area is "L" shaped. The play area is rectangular and this playpen connected to that is the "L" part of the area. At night, or when we need to be away for several hours, we'd planned to confine them to this playpen and zip the door closed. I don't feel it's large enough to keep them in all the time, but it would be enough short term room for a bed, a tray with food/water, and a small litter box. After seeing that the panels were sufficient to keep them contained even when unsupervised, we let them stay in the 29" high enclosure all the time, and kept this playpen attached for their litter box. We keep the top on and zippered closed, but the ability to zip it open, makes it easy to reach down to tend to their litter box. FYI, both our 1.5lb, 8 week old kittens are able to scale the sides and get out of this, so it's not a secure place to leave them without the top zippered shut. The plastic panels of the enclosure are only 3" higher than this playpen, but they are slick and the kittens cannot get a claw-hold onto them. This enclosure is canvas, so even if they can't completely clear the 26" height, they can easily get a claw into the canvas and climb up the sides. Pros: - Super easy to assemble - - 3 "B" rods make up each of the horizontal bars (each end piece has a smooth end, and the middle piece is threaded on both ends), and 2 "A" rods make up each vertical corner support. The rods in my order were all clearly marked, and fit together easily. The rods and supports are all strong and sturdy enough to hold the structure solid. They feel like they're hollow aluminum though so are definitely not strong enough to withstand any pressure or weight. ie, don't hold onto or put any weight on the horizontal bars while leaning over and into the pen. - Fabric is thick and sewn very well. - Construction is spot on with no excess, floppy fabric. The pen, when assembled is rigid and very sturdy. - Zippers work smoothly, easily and don't catch - - clips on zipper pulls allow for extra security if any of your kittens are clever enough to figure out how to unzip it - The mesh on 4 sides and top allows great ventilation and visibility - The cover fits on very snug and tight - - not just a loose canopy. I initially thought I could just take it on and off as needed, but it fits so snugly that it took 2 of us to pull it on. I just leave it on and use the zipper to open the top for access. - The cover fits so tightly, I can't imagine needing the toggle connections on 4 sides, but it's nice to have in case you need the extra security. - This is just my personal pickiness, but the aesthetics of this are clean and minimalistic. There's no disguising that this is a playpen, but the muted grey color and clean square lines are about as unobtrusive as you can hope for. There are a ton of other playpens out there that cost less, but most are brightly colored and many are round or octagonal(ish). The square shape of this one allows it to be more efficiently placed in the corner of our family room too. Cons (or wishes): - The bottom is the same thick and durable canvas fabric as the rest of the pen, but would be ideal if it was coated, or of a material that was water proof/resistant. I folded a waterproof tarp to cover the entire bottom, and am also using a large silicone mat to place their litter box on and these were easy things to do on my own to provide the extra protection. - The door entry flap unzips down to open like a drawbridge - - with the flap "hinged" on the bottom. This means when it's open, there's no where to stow it. It just lays open flat on the floor. I have a liner in the pen, so I tucked the flap under the liner. You could also lift the pen and tuck it under to get it out of the way. There's no other way to stow it. Ideally, if it unzipped with the "hinge" on the top, the flap would lift up and end up on the top side. When the cover is zipped open, you can roll it up and there's a bungie strap that keeps it in place and out of the way. A similar bungie strap for the door flap on the top side would be great too! Other than those two wishes (that are easy to work around on your own), this is a fantastic pen. It's working great for our foster kitties! Read more
