Animal cage

An animal cage for permitting collection of solid and liquid animal wastes for analysis. The cage comprises a top, bottom and four sides connected together to define an enclosure, a first floor positioned above the bottom. The first floor has a slope along its full dimension to a single lowest point. A second floor supports an animal and positioned above the first floor. The floor includes perforations for permitting liquid waste to pass therethrough onto the sloped first floor while retaining solid wastes thereon and a litter holder for providing a location for instinctive animal elimination of solid and liquid wastes. The litter holder communicates with the perforations for permitting liquid to pass from the litter holder through the second floor onto the first floor. A liquid collector cooperates with the first floor at its lowest point for permitting collection of liquid flowing there.

TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to an animal cage particularly adapted for use by 
animal breeders, veterinarians and others who keep numbers of small 
animals such as cats in relatively confined spaces. The cage actually 
defines a system which offers a number of advantages over cages of typical 
design currently in use. The cage described below is easy to assemble and 
disassemble, easy to keep clean and sanitary, and provides a simple yet 
effective means of monitoring urine and feces output. Since the parts are 
standard sized, replacement is easy to effect from cage-to-cage. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,360 discloses a small housing unit for an animal which 
includes a drainage system that is located in the back corner of the unit. 
The drainage system enables urine and feces to be removed from a tray 
located under the floor of the unit. A single conduit system serves to 
remove both liquid and solid waste and is therefore susceptible to 
clogging. This, in turn, can promote disease in the animals and, at the 
very least, creates the need for labor to unclog the system. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide an animal cage which 
is easy to assemble and disassemble, easy to keep clean and sanitary, and 
which includes means for monitoring urine and feces output. 
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in the 
preferred embodiments disclosed below by providing an animal cage for 
permitting collection of solid and liquid animal wastes for analysis. The 
cage comprises a top, bottom and four sides connected together to define 
an enclosure, a first floor positioned above the bottom. The first floor 
has a slope along its full dimension to a single lowest point. 
A second floor supports an animal and positioned above the first floor. The 
floor includes perforations for permitting liquid waste to pass 
therethrough onto the sloped first floor while retaining solid wastes 
thereon and a litter holder for providing a location for instinctive 
animal elimination of solid and liquid wastes. The litter holder 
communicates with the perforations for permitting liquid to pass from the 
litter holder through the second floor onto the first floor. 
A liquid collector cooperates with the first floor at its lowest point for 
permitting collection of liquid flowing there. 
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the sides also 
defines a door. 
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, one of the 
sides includes a door therein. 
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the second 
floor includes a portion of reduced elevation, and a removable litter box 
for a holding a litter material for being positioned in the portion of 
reduced elevation. 
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, one of the sides 
comprises a grate. 
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, one of the 
sides defines a front and includes a pair of spaced-apart doors therein. 
Preferably, the top, bottom and sides each includes releasable latching 
means for permitting assembly and disassembly without tools. 
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the latching means 
comprise a plurality of slots formed in the some of the top, bottom and 
sides, and a plurality of mating, complementary prongs carried by other of 
the top, bottom and sides. 
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the liquid 
collector comprises a bottle for being detachably secured to the first 
floor. 
Preferably, the bottom includes a plurality of raised, spaced-apart feet 
thereon, and the top includes a plurality of spaced-apart recesses for 
mating with the feet, whereby individual cages are stackable by placement 
of the feet on the bottom of an upper cage in the recesses of the top of a 
lower cage, and wherein the feet of a lowermost cage support the cage in 
spaced-apart relation from a supporting surface. 
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the cage 
includes wheels for permitting the cage to be rolled from place to place 
and preferably comprise castors for permitting the cage to be pulled in 
any direction. 
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the cage includes 
means for connecting a plurality of the cages end-to-end for permitting 
the cages to be pulled in unison in the manner of a train. 
Preferably, at least some of the sides include ventilation holes therein. 
Preferably, at least one of the sides includes a scratching post for use by 
an animal within the cage. 
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the cage 
includes a clipboard holder formed in the top for holding a clipboard.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND BEST MODE 
Referring now specifically to the drawings, an animal cage according to the 
present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and shown generally at 
reference numeral 10. According to the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 
1, the cage 10 is formed of four sides or panels--a back 11, two opposed 
sides 12 and 13, and a front 14, which functions as a door. A top 15 and a 
bottom 16 complete the enclosure. A preferred size for the cage 10 
utilizes a top, bottom, front and back 48 inches long and 24 inches high, 
with the sides being 24 inches square, to give overall dimensions of 24 
inches high by 24 inches deep by 48 inches long. Preferably, the sides, 
top and bottom are constructed of polyurethane or polypropylene plastic. 
These materials are inert, resistant to staining, and can be repeatedly 
cleaned by steam cleaning or otherwise to prevent the spread of disease. 
The sides, top and bottom may be solid, as shown in FIG. 1, or may be 
formed of slatted material, as is shown in the form of a slatted front 
door 17 in FIG. 2. Any combination of slatted and solid panels may be used 
as is desired. 
The sides 11-14 and the top and bottom 15 and 16 are connected together by 
male and female plastic latches 18 and 20, respectively, as is shown in 
FIG. 1. These latches permit easy and repeated assembly and disassembly 
without tools. 
Front 14 is pivotally mounted by pins 14A which are positioned in notches 
12A and 13A in sides 12 and 13, respectively. The front 14 is latched by a 
latch 42 which resides in a slot 43 and which normally extends down into a 
latch hole 44 in bottom 16. See FIG. 3. Front 17 as shown in FIG. 2 is 
similarly mounted and latched. 
The top 15 is provided with four regularly spaced recesses 22 in the top 
surface, and the bottom 16 is provided with four regularly spaced 
protruding feet 23 which mate with the recesses 22 of the top of another 
cage 10 positioned beneath. 
Bottom 16 is designed to received a first, sloped floor 25. The sloped 
floor surface leads from all points on the surface to a lowest point in 
one front corner where a drain tube 26 permits liquid waste to be 
collected in a matingly-fitted collection bottle 27. The structure is 
shown in FIG. 4 as well as FIG. 1. As is shown in FIG. 1, floor 25 
includes flat edges 25A which support a second floor 28, which is 
perforated to permit liquid waste to flow down onto floor 25 while 
retaining solid waste. One side of floor 27 includes a molded recess 29 
for receiving a litter box 30 which also has a perforated bottom. 
The perforations in the bottom of litter box 30 mate and communicate with 
the perforations in the floor 28, thereby permitting liquid waste 
deposited in the litter box 30 to flow onto sloped floor 25 and into the 
collection bottle 27. As with the floor 28, litter box 30 retains any 
solid waste. Both solid and liquid waste can thereby be collected and 
analyzed and/or weighed in connection with medical treatment or growth 
monitoring of the animal. 
The door in FIG. 1 is preferably constructed of transparent material which 
allows visual observation of the interior of the cage. A plurality of air 
holes 32 allow proper ventilation. Two doors 33 (one shown) are positioned 
in spaced-apart relation in suitably sized openings 35, 36 on front 14. 
The edges of openings 35, 36 are lipped with raised lips to prevent the 
doors 33 from opening back into the interior of cage 10. Doors 33 are 
hinged by integrally-formed hinge tabs 39 which cooperate with hinge pins 
positioned on one side of doors 33 in the manner shown in FIG. 1. 
The front of top 15 includes spaced clips 40 for holding a clipboard and 
pencil (not shown). 
An alternative embodiment of the bottom of the cage 10 is shown in FIG. 5. 
The cage is adapted to be pulled in the manner of a train by the provision 
of caster wheels 50 positioned on the underside of a bottom 51. 
Alternatively, axles with wheels mounted thereon can be provided. This 
view is not shown since the feature, per se, is completely conventional. 
The caster wheels 50 offer the advantage that the cage can be pulled 
either from the end or from the front by the provision of connectors 52.