 Do you wish there was a safe, easy and thrifty way for your pets to enjoy the fine weather? How about an easy up and easy down small kennel? All you need are temporary fence posts, rabbit wire and zip-ties to make your own cat and critter kennel. Temporary fence posts can easily be sunk into ground that has few rocks using only your feet or a mallet. Temporary fence posts are made for construction areas to quickly, easily and cheaply put up fences.
They cost around $5 each and have places to hook wire to. You will need 4 - 6 of them depending on the size of your safety kennel. All supplies can be bought in the fencing area of Home Depot. Hardware cloth, rabbit or chicken wire can be cut with simple metal shears (I bought mine at a $1 store) or if you're going to be keeping an eye on your pet, you can use plastic hardware cloth that can be cut with scissors. The hardware cloth costs between $12 and $20 per roll depending on how large of a pet kennel you want to build. Don't forget with cats and other critters to buy enough to make a cover so they won't jump out. Simply place the fence posts in to the ground, then zip-tie the rabbit wire all around them and on top.
You can build this in under an hour and when autumn comes around, you can take it down in minutes. Everything rolls up and fits into a small space and you'll see no damage to the grass from the temp fence posts. If you want a more durable small-pet kennel, you can instead build it out of wire closet shelves. They come in 12 inch, 15 inch, and 20 inch widths. Home Depot will cut them to any length you need.
I zip-tied two 15 inch wide shelves together to make the roof of Smokey's outdoor kennel and it hooks to his cat door so he can go outside and bird watch any time he pleases. The cool thing is, if I ever take it apart, I can always use the wire shelves out in the garage! Don't forget to add an easy access door. Mine simply ties shut with a piece of nylon rope. Make sure to add a partial roof for shade and provide water. Your pet will have hours of fun especially if you provide a bird feeder close by, so your pet can watch the birds!
By Cyinda from near Seattle
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