As you already know (if you don’t, you can read about it here and here), the whole crew went camping not too long ago.  And by the whole crew, I mean THE WHOLE CREW!  I have to be honest, I had never considered taking the kitties camping with us, but then we got the Kritter Kondo and everything changed.  

I received the Kondo a couple of weeks ago and set it up in my sitting room to see how everything worked.  Milo and Bella were instantly intrigued.  I left it up so they could get used to it but they didn’t hesitate to hop in and relax.  I found that Bella (my independent girl) suddenly began hanging out in there a lot, foregoing her usual post on her throne by the kitchen window.  Milo (my snuggle buddy at night) even abandoned me to sleep with Bella in the Kondo!  Even Hazel had a sniff around and it was plenty big enough for her 45 lb body. 

Once I knew all was well with our new toy, we packed up and headed off to Manatee Springs for our weekend camping trip.  It was very easy to transport and carry the Kondo, as it folds flat and comes in this nice carrying case with handles.  It fit very well (along with the rest of our gear) in the trunk of my little Honda.  The Kondo is super easy to set up and took only minutes to do so.  The instructions provided were adequate, although it is pretty self-explanatory.  The size was great for my two cats to spend the weekend in – they had a nice shady place for a bed under the canopy, while their litter box was located at the other end of the unit. 

This outdoor cat enclosure is perfect for a weekend getaway like ours.  Some of my favorite features are:

• Extremely easy to assemble.  The unit transports in one flat piece and only requires a few pins to lock the frame into position
• Shade canopy is a nice touch, allowing part of the cat run to be shaded for most (if not all) of the day
• A door on each end allows you to reach your kitty regardless of where he might be chilling out in his Kondo.  It also allows you to put water or food in or change litter easily.
• The Kondo is extremely lightweight, yet very stable and sturdy. 
• The high quality carrying case is included and has handles and a shoulder strap for easy transport, plus there are several nice pockets inside for food, treats, etc. 

There weren’t many negatives in my opinion, but I want to mention the following:

• There is a bit of sag in the netting and sometimes the net gets caught in the joints when the Kondo is folded/unfolded.  I did have to use a screwdriver to spread the joint a bit to get the netting out during my initial setup.  I definitely recommend setting this up at home before you travel with it, just to make sure you have everything you need for setup. 
• Along the same vein, I had some minor problems with fit during my setup.  The canopy frame fits very tightly and the posts were very difficult to line up just so.  There is no room for play – which is good for stability, but can be tricky for setup.  I think the painted coating added just enough thickness to the posts to make it pretty snug.   
• The netting used is a fairly open weave that doesn’t have much structure.  There is a bit of sagging along the top of the cat run and it’s a relatively loose draping of net that offers a bit of movement as I mentioned above.  The product instruction sheet clearly states that this material is not recommended for unsupervised use in an animal that chews.  I have to agree with this – although I will admit that I did leave my cats for brief periods unattended after I saw their reaction to the Kondo.  They were having so much fun watching everything that they had no desire to break out!  Having said this, I would have preferred a tighter, stronger weave that might be a bit more resistant to teeth and claws.

Overall, I have to say that this is an excellent product!  While there are a few minor, nitpicky things I might change about the design, the Kritter Kondo performs as expected and is a great product for the price.  I did a quick search for similar products and found that most outdoor cat enclosures were much more expensive than this one.  More importantly, I didn’t find any that were this mobile. 

If you’re like me, and had never even considered taking your cats on a trip before, another point to mention is this:  I have two pretty cool cats, but they are by no means “freak proof.”  Bella is the consummate hunter and takes every opportunity to run out the door and go on a walkabout.  Milo is a huge chicken and is afraid of everything unknown to him.  Point is, either of these guys could have made a case for escape and I wouldn’t have been surprised.  What did surprise me is that they were completely relaxed and comfortable in their Kondo the entire weekend.  There was no howling, scratching, or attempts to escape.  I believe that the design of this Kondo allowed Bella to experience her environment as much as she wanted, while offering Milo a feeling of more security with the shade canopy over him. 

I will definitely take Milo, Bella, and our Kritter Kondo road tripping again once it cools off down here!  In the meantime, it’s going into the backyard so they can enjoy their outdoor time here at home.   If you would like to win one of these Kondos, visit Lisa’s blog Kritters That Twitter and click on the Google Friends tab to follow her.  Even if you don’t camp or travel with your cats, I can think of a ton of reasons why you would still like this product.  And Bella and Milo agree.

Sunday morning found Grady and I at an area dog park enjoying the morning. Here are some of his favorite games:

Refereeing Water Sports

Look, I make the rules here!

Preventing Frou-Frou Dogs From Messing up their Hair

I don't think your stylist would approve of you entering this water!

Play With Me or I Will Deafen You By Barking Loudly in Your Left Ear for an Extended Period of Time!

Are you listening? I said, DO YOU WANT TO PLAY?

Who Can Swim the Longest without Drowning? (Played exclusively with Labrador Retrievers)

Let's see what you're made of, tough guy!

Bella Bonus of the Week:

I got a surprise shot of Bella lovin’ on her new catnip banana!  She has gone completely nuts over this thing and rarely puts it down.  I finally got a good shot to post!

Many of you have met Grady before and know what a charming little goober-flinger he is.  Bet you didn’t also know he’s a personal friend of the Easter Bunny (thanks to the Tampa Humane Society for the photo!) and a certified therapy dog!  The photo on the top right is Grady and I at Give Kids the World Village not long after his certification was completed.  Grady LOVES children and this venue gave him a great opportunity to mingle with tons of kids and their families.  It’s a lot of fun and for a great cause.  Every weekend the Village (which is a resort style complex that is a fantasyland for terminally ill children) hosts a street party in the square with dancing, music, and food.  Children sing and dance and forget their troubles for a short while and it’s great fun for everyone involved.  The bottom photo is Grady getting his butt whooped by his sister, Bella Dog.  She doesn’t live with us anymore, but she may turn up now and again around these parts! 

Milo is definitely the more photogenic of my two cats.  I have tons of photos of him in goofy positions or doing strange things.  You never know quite what you’ll find with him.  In fact the photos of him wrapped up in the sheet were just taken this morning as I watched him flopping around in there trying to free himself.  As you can see, Grady was not particularly amused.  The bottom left photo is Milo as a kitten rubbing noses with my old Neo, Otis.  When I got the kittens, Otis was elderly and infirm.  He didn’t get around well and he served as an excellent jungle gym for baby Milo and Bella.  This photo is one of my favorites of the two of them together. 

I had a lot more trouble finding good photos of Bella.  She’s so independent and low-key that she tends to fly under the radar a bit more than the others.  I’m hoping that changes now that we’ve moved.  I have been so pleasantly surprised with how she’s dealt with it – nothing at all how I expected her to!  She’s willingly given up her freedom (they were indoor/outdoor cats prior) and now languishes in her various spots around our tiny little apartment.  Her favorite place is curled up on the cable box or my lap.  I’ll be sure to get more photos of Bella for future Zoo editions. 

And now…just in case you’re not yet convinced of my insanity, check out the former zoo in its entirety.  Before the four of us moved in July, we lived with a total of 6 cats, 2 dogs, 1 horse, and an occasional visitor of some variety (whatever creature came to visit via the cat door, or needed rehab for some ailment).  I know it seems crazy to have so many animals in one house (and yes, it felt crazy sometimes!) but I love each and every one of those guys and I miss them dearly.  Check out a somewhat common kitchen view:

From left: Bubba, Frankie, Milo, Minge, Bella Cat, Bella Dog, and Grady. Tiglet is AWOL.