Cat Supplies
Buy and sell cat supplies in Panama.
A cat living high up in a Costa del Este or Punta Pacífica tower never goes outdoors, so most of what it needs is about the window: netting across the balcony, a perch stuck to the glass, a wheel for the one with energy to burn. The other piece of kit that matters is a hard travel kennel, for the drive to the clinic or a flight out of Tocumen. All of it changes hands new and pre-owned, and much of it is passed on when a family moves out of an apartment or out of the country.
Balcony netting for a cat in a tower apartment:
a mosquito screen gives way under a cat that leans on it, and a cat chasing a moth will go over a rail. What stops it is a nylon net held taut across the opening. Monofilament is clear, cheaper and what most installers fit; multifilament is thicker and softer and lasts far longer in the sun; and nets with steel wire woven through stand up to a cat that chews. They are fixed with stainless anchors drilled into the concrete or on aluminium profiles, while renters who cannot drill use tension poles wedged between floor and ceiling. If a cat has already got past one, post it in animals lost and found.
Hard kennels for the clinic and for the hold:
any clip-together plastic kennel does the drive to the vet. One meant to fly in the hold is built differently: a metal door on metal pins, bolts through every hole that joins the two halves, and vents on all sides, the pattern the IATA standard sets out. Petmate’s Sky Kennel and Vari Kennel are the familiar names. A soft bag for the cabin has to sit under the seat in front, and several sold as airline-approved stand taller than a given airline allows, so hold the bag up against your own airline’s limit before you pay for it.
A window perch or an exercise wheel for an indoor cat:
a cat kept off the balcony still wants the view, and a perch that clings to the glass with suction cups gives it one; the sturdier ones add a strap or a frame to share the weight. An exercise wheel such as the One Fast Cat suits a young, restless cat in a small apartment, and because it arrives in an enormous box, a pre-owned one is often the easier route. For litter, trays and scratching posts, start from cats, and a cat that needs a new family goes in adopt a cat, never in a supplies listing.
What a hold kennel fetches after one flight:
a cat-size kennel built for the hold runs about $90 to $120 new. Hard plastic barely wears in one trip, so one that has flown once should still bring $40 to $60. Missing hardware is what drags it down: bolts lost in the move, a door pin that no longer seats, a door that no longer closes square.
Where a used kennel cracks and a net gives out:
count the bolts and check that each one bites. Hairline cracks show up around the bolt holes and the door frame, where a dropped kennel splits, and extra vents cut by a previous owner weaken the shell. On netting, fibres that look faded, chalky or fuzzy have had too much sun, and a net already cut to someone else’s balcony only suits an opening the same size or smaller. Press a perch’s suction cups to a pane and pull: hardened, yellowed cups lose their grip. A wheel should spin quietly, without rubbing at one spot.
Moving out with a kennel and a net to pass on:
give the kennel’s size label or inside measurements, say whether it has flown and with which airline, and photograph the door and the row of bolts. For a net, state the size of the opening it covered and whether the aluminium profiles go with it, since those can be reused. If you are leaving the country, price each piece on its own as well as the whole set. A family that has just landed at Tocumen often wants its hold kennel gone within weeks, and the buyer driving in from David or Santiago is usually about to fly a cat of their own, so tell them which bolt or pin is missing before they make the trip.