Wheek by Wheek Enclosures
About Us
Wheek by Wheek Enclosures is a small business located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, owned by sole proprietor Caitlin Pence.
I specialize in building small mammal enclosures using salvaged and repurposed furniture.
I opened Wheek by Wheek in 2023 after building several cages for my own pets at home and realizing how many other pets and families I could help. I am committed to building safe, fun, and attractive homes for your smallest family members.
Animal enclosures don't have to look like cages!
Most animal cages on the market look like... well, cages. While some commercial animal cages are perfectly safe and effective, they are not particularly attractive or customizable.
Wheek by Wheek challenges you to re-think your pets' living environment. Animal enclosures can be furniture. They can be an element of your home, and a reflection of your personal style.
Animal enclosures can be attractive.
My first custom cage was built for our rescued rat, Opal. Opal spent the first year of her life in wildly inadequate caging with no toys and very little enrichment. She was very fearful when we first brough her home and did not know how to interact with us or play.
Opal needed a lot more space to play and explore, and I wanted her enclosure to be a functional part of our living space where she would be around us constantly and get used to interacting with us.
I made Opal's 2-story house out of an old cube storage shelf. It has plenty of space, great ventilation, pet-safe chew guards, and sash-style window locks that make it escape-proof. After just a few days in her new home, Opal was noticeably happier and more comfortable.
Commerical pet cages don't meet every pet's needs.
Last year, I fostered and later adopted a hedgehog that had likely been released into the wild as an unwanted pet. She was missing a hind foot, making her incredibly wobbly and clumsy.
Most small mammal cages on the market have multiple stories and/or have bars that are easy for hedgehogs to climb, fall, or get stuck. Since Patchouli is at an increased risk of taking a tumble and getting injured, anything with stairs, multiple stories, or sides with metal bars was out of the question for her. Instead, I repurposed a wall cabinet into a single-story enclosure with a heat-safe, ventilated lid.
