There is an interesting article in today's Newsday (Sept 20), called
"Crate News for Solitary Kitties". No link because I can't find it on
the website yet. The thrust is that cats are primarily solitary
creatures and don't mind being put into a crate. Free access to a
crate, and even being locked in when the humans are away, is not
necessarily a bad thing, as long as it is large enough to accomodate a
litter box.

She (Denise Flaim) goes on to state that a vet named Myrna Millani of
New Hampshire has used crates to provide a permanent refuge from other
resident cats as well as stressful household situations. In
particular, it has been effective for "elimination problems", when the
human is not around to supervise. Soon the potty habits were under
control. She recommends washing out the crate and spritzing it with
Feliway in preparation. I saw nothing else about the size of the
crate.

If you crate train your cats, that becomes their personal territory
and the rest of the house is neutral ground. This is useful for
multi-cat households with clashing cats.

Your attitude counts too. If you have negative feelings about crating
and think of it as putting your cat in jail, don't do it. Animals pick
up cues from us

Anyway, that's what the article says. I think it won't go over big
with those that feel that keeping a cat indoors is horrible, but,
well, let the darts fly.