There is a particular flavour of annoyance in a cage that is perfectly fine apart from one missing part. The short securing pin is usually the first to go, because it is small, it lives loose in the bottom of a bag, and it ends up under a car seat. Replacing it costs less than three pounds and puts the cage straight back into service.

The part does the same job as the pin it replaces, threading through the frame to hold the folding sections locked together so nothing works loose while the cage is being carried, or while a cat is registering an objection to being inside it. Keeping a spare in the same bag as the cage is sensible practice for anyone who folds and unfolds one regularly, since the second one goes the same way as the first.

• Spare short securing pin for folding cages
• Holds the folded sections locked in use and in storage
• A direct replacement for the standard pin
• Sold singly
• Worth keeping as a spare alongside the cage

On fit. There is no length and no diameter on file, and we are not going to invent one, because folding cages differ between makes and a pin that fits ours may well not fit yours.

Who it's for: Owners of folding wire cat and small-dog cages who have lost the short pin and want the cage usable again.