I hate the word cage for an animal and I never thought I would own one for a pet of mine. But last year we got a rescue Staffie cross dog called Banjo and we found the need to purchase one. I hoped it would only be temporary but it has now become Banjo's bed which he loves and a safe way for him to travel in the car on long journeys.


As we originally wanted a temporary cage we didn't want to spend too much and looking around we found they can be a little pricey. We came across a website called Petplanet which had a range of cages on offer. It turned out the cage we wanted was out of stock and we needed one so we ended up taking a risk on the budget cage. It has turned out to be a very good risk. We ordered the cage a few days before we were to collect Banjo as the re-homing centre had told us he had been living on the streets for a while and may be a little difficult to begin with, in a house. I didn't fancy leaving him any period of time alone to chew the house up!


The budget cage is a strong wire cage with a plastic tray that can be removed. It has two doors to it, front and side. Both doors have two bolt latches on them. We also chose this cage because it can be folded for travelling or we hoped to eventually store away in the shed. It also has a black carry handle on the top of the cage which I find handy when carrying it out to the car.


On arrival we were slightly disappointed to see the plastic tray was cracked in one corner and a piece had broken in the other corner. We immediately contacted Petplanet and explained our situation. They were extremely helpful and sent us a replacement tray the next day. Now that is service for you! Other than the tray I found the cage extremely simple to put up. My first impressions of the cage were I got what I paid for, it did feel a little flimsy but I guess time would tell.


The budget cage is available on the Petplanet website in six different sizes. Of course as you would expect the price increasing with the size of the cage. They start with an extra small which is approximately 48 x 31 x 38cm high and costs £11.99 to the giant which is approximately 123cm x 79cm x 84cm high and costs £64.99. We did measure the sizes out in the house and opted for the medium size cage hoping our Staffie cross would be comfortable in it. The medium measures approximately 79cm x 48cm x 58cm high. Lucky for us it is a perfect size for Banjo giving him plenty of room. And it only cost £22.99 which made us even happier!


When Banjo arrived at our house he was everywhere and it took him a day or two to find his place. Having the cage was a god send when I went on the school run and bedtime. Within a few days he was very happy to use his cage as his bed and we found he would just wonder off into it on his own accord. As it is the budget cage it doesn't come with a bed we found a large pile of towels was what he loves and they are easy enough to pop in the washer, something he isn't too keen on though! My initial worries of the cage been flimsy have been pushed aside. Banjo is not the most careful dog in the world and loves to chew his Nylabone in his cage but the cage still stands in perfect condition. I was a little worried about the strength of the tray as the first one had broken in transit but it is fine.
We have had the cage in the back of our car (a Volvo V50) and it fitted perfectly. We don't tend to use it on short journeys we clip him in but on long journeys like the 270 miles to my sisters we put him in it. He seems to travel better as he feels comfortable in his bed. I found moving it from the house to the car easy enough with the carry handle. Where it was positioned at my sisters we finally got to use the side door which is as easy to use as the main on. I like the fact it has two bolt latches on each door and they are simple enough to open and close.


As for the cage being able to be folded up and down I haven't used this feature as much as I thought, in fact I probably have only done it twice since buying it. It is very simple to do and folds quite flat making it easy enough to store.


I would highly recommend the Petplanet budget cage it is a lot better than I thought it would be it is certainly value for money. Banjo loves it and it is now called bed I don't have the heart to get rid of it.


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