Cage Training?

Has anyone here cage trained their cats? by that I mean taught them to stay calmly in a large dog crate during the day?

I have been teaching Indy to stay in a dog crate when I am out/during the night and for some time during the day. this is because due to elderly dogs we cannot keep him shut in a room and the back door is open to give dogs access to the garden and Indy is being kept as an indoor cat (I hope to move to a city for better work and think it's kinder to keep him as a housecat now rather than restrict him after he's used to outdoor access)

I currently have him in a 30 x 21 x 25 inch cage with a metal tray in the bottom, a rubber based mat and have put a platform in to give him 2 floors. he has an enclosed bed for privacy, food bowls on top floor, bottom had a litter tray (in a vinyl 'tent' I made with access hole as he's a digger) a scratching post and a variety of rubber/jingly balls and a hanging rubber hoop he chews

he is upgrading asap to a 48 x 30 x 35 inch cage again with the platform setup etc

what do people think of this? what size cage does he need for a maximum 8 hours at a time (sleep, 5.5 hours when I work) if it has been done what do people think of it? Indy settles down very happily and rarely mews or asks out, though full of energy when he is out

I have a friend with 6 cats kept indoors in cages with 2 to 3 cats per cage (maybe 3.5ftx2ftx2.5ft). He lives in an apartment and is not home most of the day. Three of the cats, were adult strays.
My friend says he has no problems, but he lets them out to roam around the apartment for one or two hours each day.

Hey,
I have a question, how do your cats behave after they are in the cage for couple of hours? Do they look relaxsed? Are they taking it o.k?

Indy settles down within 5 mins, will wake up and play etc but only plays up if we are playing with the dogs or if they wind him up.

We crated our kittens at first, until we were comfortable trusting them with the dogs - who are dominated by by our cat. They were in the largest dog crate while we weren't around to watch them.
It was a huge advantage when they went in for their spaying. The vet had never seen a cat settle in so easily.

My only concern so to speak is how long you intend on keeping them caged while you are not home etc Is this a temporary thing until they get alittle older or something you intend on doing as they age?

Because we were renting an apartment that only allowed cats with a deposit we hid Jack. We didn't want him to destroy anything in the apartment so until he was old enough to be trusted he remained in the downstairs bathroom at night and while we worked. We slowly transitioned to him locked in our bedroom at night and then we stopped putting him in the bathroom altogether. He had complete freedom at about 6 months old.

Both cats currently have complete freedom at our rental house--minus the cat hair "safe" zone. We keep our extra bedroom cat free as we have family with cat allergies--so when they visit they sleep better.

Leslie

this is hopefully temporary until I get my own place (rented most likely) as then I won't have to worry about the dogs/him getting out etc. Also I have found more landlords willing to waiver the 'no pets' policy if the pet (dog or cat) is cage trained and confined when the tenant isn't in the property. Once I have my own place I plan to build an indoor Avery type setup to satisfy landlord and give Indy more room.

I plan to get the biggest dog crate available to do until then, rated for a great dane. it is 48 x 30 x 35 inches, giving a floor space of about 4ft x 2.5 ft
this would then have about 2ft x 2.5ft as a second level, along with room for a scratching post, food/water, bed, litter and toys. For the limited time I would be out the house for work at most 9-10 hours a day it would give him more room than many boarding facilities, the vets etc etc