fig1 shows a pet cage 10 having a perimeter wall 12 and a roof 13 resting upon a stand 20 and supporting a second pet cage 10 ′ by means of multiple stacking spacers 40 . fig2 shows only a pet cage 10 resting upon the stand 20 ; the perimeter wall 12 may include a plurality of vertical walls , which may be constructed of conventional wire mesh having fill wires 11 that are preferably orientated vertically . at least one part of the perimeter wall 12 has a conventional swinging or sliding access door 14 that can be maintained in the closed position by a conventional latch 16 when desired . a top of the pet cage 10 is enclosed by the generally horizontal roof 13 which may also be of conventional wire mesh construction . the vertical walls 12 of the pet cage 10 engage and are latched to a base 18 . within the base 18 is a conventional , wire mesh bottom grill 19 that functions to prevent pets from contacting waste and debris that is collected in a waste drawer 30 . as best illustrated in fig1 , the grill 19 rests on a pair of surfaces of the base 18 above the waste drawer 30 and is restrained from rising by multiple hooks 68 . other than illustrating a feeding cup 17 in fig2 and 3 , other commonly found components in pet cages have been purposely omitted for clarity . as best illustrated in fig2 , the bottom grill 19 and the waste drawer 30 slide into the base 18 through a front wall having an opening 31 . the bottom grill 19 and the waste drawer 30 may have integral pull handles 32 and 33 , respectively . referring now to fig1 and 2 , the stand 20 may include substantially similar multiple legs 22 , a horizontal member 24 that engages and stabilizes the legs 22 near their lower extremity , and a clip 26 that is attached to each of the legs 22 and engages the horizontal member 24 . as better shown in fig3 and 4 , a tubular sleeve 28 may interconnect horizontally projecting upper ends 29 of adjacent legs 22 . the horizontal member 24 and the clip 26 are best illustrated in fig8 and 9 . spaced below the upper ends 29 may be a cross tie 27 that stiffens and stabilizes the upper ends 29 of the legs 22 . lower ends of the legs 22 may terminate in a bent foot 25 that rests upon the floor . the waste drawer 30 , which is best illustrated in fig1 through 22 , includes an upstanding wall that may advantageously comprise side walls 34 and a rear wall 35 . a front wall 36 includes the pull handle 33 . an underside of the drawer 37 may include multiple rub ribs 38 that support the waste drawer 30 and which may slide upon and ultimately rest upon a bottom 39 of the base 18 , as seen in fig1 . the upper portions 51 and 52 of the side walls 34 and rear wall 35 respectively , as seen in fig1 , 17 and 19 , taper to a thin edge 53 and 54 respectively , which are angled further from the vertical than are the walls 34 and 35 . these upper portions 51 and 52 are separated by a notch 55 that extends downwardly from a top of the upper portions 51 and 52 to their beginning at the upper ends of walls 34 and 35 , respectively . as illustrated in fig5 , the base 18 preferably has integral , outwardly and upwardly extending side , rear and front aprons 60 , 62 . the side and / or rear aprons 60 are preferably substantially similar . the front apron 62 terminates at the upper extent of the opening 31 ( fig2 ). the side or rear aprons 60 and the front apron 62 may be stiffened and supported by multiple gussets 61 and 63 respectively ( fig3 ). as best illustrated in fig2 , bottoms of the multiple front gussets 63 do not extend below the upper extent of the opening 31 . this upper extent of the opening 31 is defined by a generally horizontal flange 59 that extends inwardly from the front apron 62 to generally overlap the front wall 36 of the waste drawer 30 . referring to fig5 and 10 through 14 , extending upwardly from the side or rear aprons 60 and the front apron 62 , are multiple positioning and support ribs 64 . centered between pairs of the positioning and support ribs 64 and , preferably in two places on each of the side aprons 60 , is a cage latch 66 ( fig1 ). at those locations , the pairs of the positioning and support ribs 64 are connected by a web 65 spaced from and located outside of the cage latch 66 ( fig1 and 14 ). as best shown in fig1 , a laterally extended hook 68 rises above a surface of the side aprons 60 . this structure may be duplicated on each side apron 60 where each cage latch 66 is located . as best illustrated in fig4 , descending from the lower surface 70 of the bottom 39 of the base 18 are multiple pairs of gripping fingers 69 which may include facing hooks 71 and guiding tapers 72 that end at a narrow tip 73 . aperture pairs 88 may be located wherever pairs of gripping fingers 69 are located . as illustrated in fig5 , the pairs of gripping fingers 69 which are generally hidden in this view , may be located where ever the aperture pairs 88 are shown and may be positioned an equal distance from corners of the base 18 . the base 18 may also include short legs 74 disposed in the corners of the base 18 connected by a much shorter perimeter rib 75 . as best illustrated in fig3 , on a lower surface 70 of the bottom 39 are multiple feed runners 76 with a generally radial orientation , which blend into the perimeter ribs 75 and originate from a centrally located distribution ring 77 . to avoid confusion and to better illustrate the other features and functions of the base 18 , the multiple feed runners 76 and the distribution ring 77 are not shown in the other figures in which they might appear . the preferred embodiment of the stacking spacer 40 is best illustrated in fig2 , 24 and 25 . the stacking spacer 40 has a main member 41 that when in use , rests upon the roof 13 of the cage 10 . the stacking spacer 40 may also include a downwardly extending flange 42 that preferably is positioned with a small clearance 43 to a perimeter of the roof 13 and the vertical walls 12 of the cage 10 . at a top of the stacking spacer 40 is one or more cross - members 44 having an upper surface 45 that is generally flat to better support an underside 70 ′ of a bottom 39 ′ of the second cage 10 ′. the lower extremities 46 of the cross - members 44 are shaped to engage with and be removably retained by gripping fingers 69 ′ of the second cage 10 ′. the cross - members 44 are supported by a vertical web 47 which rises from the main member 41 . the vertical web 47 may be braced by one or more gussets 48 having an upper flat surface 49 that may have enough clearance from the underside 70 ′ of the bottom 39 ′ of the second cage 10 ′ to insure that the gripping fingers 69 ′ fully engage the lower extremities 46 of the cross - members 44 . the gripping fingers 69 ′ have a notch 78 ′ that is engaged by the gussets 48 to limit the axial motion of the stacking spacer 40 relative to the gripping fingers 69 ′ of the bottom 39 ′ of the second cage 10 ′. other means of restricting the axial movement of the stacking spacer 40 relative to the gripping fingers 69 ′ are contemplated herein . in this preferred embodiment , the lower extremities 46 of the cross - members 44 are first engaged into the gripping fingers 69 ′ of the bottom 39 ′ of the second cage 10 ′. by virtue of the close proximity of the flat surface 49 to the underside 70 ′ of the bottom 39 ′ of the second cage 10 ′, the stacking spacers 40 cannot rotate and their downwardly extending flanges 42 are maintained in a vertical position with the clearance 43 generally maintained as the second cage 10 ′ and its attached stacking spacers 40 are lowered on to a pet cage 10 to be supported by and spaced above it . the engagement of the gripping fingers 69 ′ with the cross - members 44 may be sufficient to prevent rotation of the stacking spacers 40 without the additional stability provided by the close proximity of the flat surface 49 to the underside 70 ′ of the bottom 39 ′ of the second cage 10 ′. it was included in the preferred embodiment because of the additional support and stress distribution the flat surface 49 may provide . the spacing provided by the stacking spacers 40 is important for ventilation and lighting of the cage below . the firm , three dimensional engagement to the second cage 10 ′ and close fitting overlap of the supporting cage 10 provided by the stacking spacers 40 insures that the second cage 10 ′ is extremely unlikely to be dislodged . in the preferred embodiment , the stacking spacers 40 may be made of a clear material to avoid impeding light to , or view of the pet in the lower cage 10 . the stacking spacer 40 provides a pet cage improvement , important to those users who have many cages such as breeders and pet stores . it is fully anticipated that alternative or equivalent configurations of the stacking spacers 40 may be used , some of which will later be described . a further feature of the disclosure is to avoid the unattractive flat surface flanges of existing art . flat plastic surfaces exaggerate plastic molding flaws and are not as strong or attractive as curved surfaces . as illustrated in fig3 , the side or rear aprons 60 and the front apron 62 ( not shown ), are curved upwardly for a functional reason as well as for cosmetic and strength purposes . for example , debris falling and striking the aprons 60 and 62 further away from the vertical walls 12 have a longer distance to be bounced , slid or otherwise propelled to the waste drawer 30 that will ultimately receive it . with an upward curve to the surfaces of the aprons 60 and 62 , the horizontal vector of the rebound force on the debris increases as an impact point gets further from the vertical walls 12 of the cage 10 . to maximize the effectiveness of this feature , the feeding cups 17 should be located as low as is practical in the vertical walls 12 of pet cage 10 . with the cage 10 constructed as disclosed herein , it is possible to avoid increasing the wall thickness of the molded base , and actually allows the wall thickness to be decreased from what was customarily used in molded bases of similar overall size . using a square base with an overall length of 22 inches as an example , the cage 10 may have a typical wall thickness of only 0 . 080 ″ using high impact polystyrene resin . prior art cages would customarily have a wall thickness of between 0 . 125 to 0 . 140 ″. referring to fig3 , the molding resin may be injected in the center of the distribution ring 77 which is of a substantially larger cross section than the basic wall thickness . the feed runners 76 which also have a larger cross section , radiate from the distribution ring 77 to encourage the flow of resin toward the perimeter ribs 75 . from there the flow is upward into the side or rear walls 79 of the base 18 , as better shown in fig3 . the flow continues through the side and rear aprons 60 and the side or rear gussets 61 that stiffen and support them . the side and rear aprons 60 and the front apron 62 terminate in a stiffening flange 80 which along with the side and rear gussets 61 and the front gussets 63 , may contribute rigidity to the thin walls to permit confident lifting of the entire cage 10 . the walls of the side and rear aprons 60 , the front apron 62 and the stiffening flanges 80 may be so thin that the stiffening flanges 80 terminate in a bulb 81 to give the consumer an impression that the walls are much thicker than they really are and to prevent the walls of stiffing flange 80 from cutting into the consumers &# 39 ; fingers when lifting the cage 10 . the feed runners 76 are oriented towards the corners of the base 18 to promote a lateral flow of resin in the side or rear walls 79 and the side and rear aprons 60 . referring to fig2 , on the front of the base 18 , there is the opening 31 to receive the waste drawer 30 and the bottom grill 19 . the flow of the resin to the front apron 62 , the front gussets 63 and the flange 59 may be accomplished by lateral flow from the corners . these improvements may dramatically reduce the cost increase which would have been expected from the large area increase required for the circumscribing , debris catching aprons and may improve its function enough to become commercially feasible to incorporate this feature in low cost , mass market pet cages with molded plastic bases . while the preferred embodiment described herein is one in which the side or rear aprons 60 and the front apron 62 are molded integral with the base 18 , it is anticipated that these aprons may be made as separate parts that can either hook into or be fastened to the balance of the base 18 and each other . the choice between the options is principally a trade off between the cost and complexity savings of the former against the expected smaller carton size of the latter . as illustrated in fig5 and in more detail in fig1 through 14 , the cage 10 eliminates the bottom wire 15 of the vertical walls 12 of the cage 10 from acting as a barrier to the flow of waste and debris sliding off the aprons 60 and 62 . the bottom wire 15 is supported at a spaced interval above the surface of the aprons 60 and 62 by resting upon the bottom 82 of a vertical notch 83 . the positioning and support ribs 64 are located at least once , but preferably twice on each of the aprons 60 and 62 . the support ribs 64 may be individual , but preferably are in close coupled pairs as illustrated . the walls 84 of notch 83 are spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the bottom wire 15 so as to easily accept it and restrict its movement in the horizontal plane . the positioning and support ribs 64 are positioned in the horizontal plane to be located approximately midway between the vertical fill wires 11 of the vertical walls 12 of the pet cage 10 so that even with the expected tolerance in the placement of the fill wires 11 there will be no interference between them and the positioning and support ribs 64 . alternatively , if the fill wires 11 were horizontal , this positioning requirement would not be necessary . thus , the positioning and support ribs 64 may support and position the bottom wire 15 of vertical walls 12 above the surface of the aprons 60 and 62 so that debris may slide under the bottom wire 15 and into the waste drawer 30 . additionally , the positioning and support ribs 64 may position the vertical walls 12 in a horizontal plane relative to the base 18 to keep the hinged vertical walls 12 in their rectangular orientation . this positioning function would be required even if the positioning and support ribs 64 were cooperating with the vertical walls of a welded , rigid cage . working in conjunction with the positioning and support ribs 64 , as illustrated in fig1 , may be the cantilevered , cage latch 66 which will deflect outwardly by the bottom wire 15 upon the vertical walls 12 being pushed down into the positioning and support ribs 64 . the cage latch 66 may spring back so that the tapered barb 67 will be above the bottom wire 15 thus locking the vertical walls 12 to the base 18 . the taper on the tapered barb 67 causes the cage latch 66 to be deflected outwardly by the downward motion of the bottom wire 15 . in the preferred embodiment , the cage latch 66 may be positioned between a pair of the positioning and support ribs 64 and at lease one , preferably two , would be used on each of two opposed aprons 60 and 62 . the cage latch 66 may be employed on all the aprons 60 and 62 , but this may make unlatching the vertical walls 12 , much more and needlessly tedious . the tapered barb 67 is potentially a fragile part which might be easily damaged by the consumer assembling the cage . accordingly , means to protect the tapered barb 67 are contemplated herein . to keep the deflection of the tapered barb 67 within its elastic limit , a web 65 may be placed outside of the tapered barb 67 . the web 65 may be spaced from the tapered barb 67 a sufficient distance to permit it to deflect far enough to clear the bottom wire 15 , but not so far as to exceed the elastic limit of its cantilevered support . the web 65 also gives added lateral strength to the pair of positioning and support ribs 64 it spans . to prevent the possibility of the bottom wire 15 descending outside or behind the tapered barb 67 such as , for example , by inadvertently pushing it inward and over stressing or breaking it , tops 85 of the positioning and support ribs 64 are connected by the web 65 and are elevated slightly above the tapered barb 67 . the descent of the bottom wire 15 outside of the tapered barb 67 would be halted by the top 85 of the positioning and support ribs 64 above the top of the tapered barb 67 . should the consumer lower the vertical walls 12 so far from the correct position that the bottom wire 15 descends outside of the web 65 , no damage is likely to result since the inward thrust would be resisted by the relatively strong structure of the web 65 , as it may be reinforced by the pair of the positioning and support ribs 64 it spans . the webs 65 are preferably short in length as they constitute the only impediment to the free flow of debris down from the aprons 60 and 62 . the tapered barb 67 of cage latch 66 may be located inside of the bottom wire 15 of the vertical walls 12 as an alternative to the preferred embodiment illustrated . as best seen in fig1 , the preferred embodiment has the advantage of allowing release of the cage latch 66 by the simple act of pressing a finger tip into the gap between its narrow tip 84 and the vertical walls 12 to deflect the tapered barb 67 outwardly which may allow a slight lift of the vertical wall 12 above its latched location . the cage 10 may be released from its base 18 , one side at a time , wherein the cage latches 66 are disposed on only two opposing sides . as illustrated in fig1 and 14 , positioned on each of the side aprons 60 may be two laterally extending hooks 68 which may serve to retain and guide edges 86 of the bottom grill 19 when it is slid in or out of the base 18 through its opening 31 . the underside of the edges 86 of the bottom grill 19 rest upon a surface of the side aprons 60 adjacent to side walls 79 of the base 18 . other than being on the side aprons 60 , and being positioned to keep the bottom grill 19 from tipping downwardly when being withdrawn , the front to rear location of the laterally extended hooks 68 is arbitrary . in the preferred embodiment , the hooks 68 are positioned beneath pairs of positioning and support ribs 64 . the bottom grill 19 is withdrawn from the base 18 using the pull handle 32 ( fig2 ). beneath the bottom grill 19 and resting upon the bottom 39 of the base 18 is the waste drawer 30 , as is illustrated in fig1 through 22 . when the drawer 30 is inserted into the opening 31 , the upward excursion of the rear wall 35 of the waste drawer 30 is limited by the underside of the bottom grill 19 . there are multiple rub ribs 38 on the underside of the drawer bottom 37 that slide on the bottom 39 of the base 18 ( fig1 ). the side walls 34 and the rear wall 35 of the waste drawer 30 are generally parallel to and spaced inward for working clearance 87 from the side or rear walls 79 of the base 18 , as best illustrated in fig1 . as molded , the waste drawer &# 39 ; s 30 upper portions 51 of the side walls 34 and the upper portion 52 of the rear wall 35 project outward a greater distance than the clearance 87 . this is best illustrated by contrasting fig2 . with fig1 . the upper portions 51 and 52 , taper to very thin edges 53 and 54 respectively . when inserted into the base 18 , these upper portions 51 and 52 are forced to flex and conform to the surface of the side or rear walls 79 of the base 18 , as illustrated in fig1 . the geometry of the flexure is limited to being below the elastic limit of the plastic selected for use on the waste drawer 30 . the side upper portion 51 and the rear upper portion 52 of the walls of the waste drawer 30 causes a squeegee blade - like action that seals the working clearance 87 between the waste drawer 30 and the side or rear walls 79 of the base 18 . liquid and solid waste or debris are extremely unlikely to fall between the walls as they cascade down into the waste drawer 30 . referring to fig2 , the horizontal flange 59 that extends from the bottom of the front apron 62 and defines the upper extent of the opening 31 through which the bottom grill 19 and the waste drawer 30 enter , serves as a conduit for debris sliding off the front apron 62 . since the horizontal flange 59 overhangs the front wall 36 of the waste drawer 30 , the debris from the front apron 62 falls inside the waste drawer 30 . the flexure of the rear upper portion 52 is created by pushing the waste drawer 30 fully into the base 18 . if there is a relatively low coefficient of friction between the rub strips 38 and the bottom 39 of the base 18 , one may expect the waste drawer to be urged forward by the flexural force of the deflected rear upper portion 52 and thus breaking the seal that was created by its full insertion . however , the partial ejection of the waste drawer 30 is resisted by a frictional grip of the two side upper portions 51 on the side walls 79 of the base 18 . this may be in addition or as an alternative to the friction grip due to the weight of the waste drawer 30 resting upon the bottom 39 of the base 18 . if the coefficient of friction between the two plastic surfaces of the waste drawer 30 and the base 18 was 0 . 5μ , for example , the side wall grip alone may be enough to resist a springing back force from the rear of the waste drawer 30 equal to the weight of the waste drawer 30 . in the event the coefficient was much lower , the waste drawer 30 may move slightly until the force generated by the flexure of the rear upper portion 52 was reduced to the point where it could no longer overcome the frictional resistance opposing it . even in such case , the rear upper portion 52 may still be partially flexed against the rear wall 79 , thereby maintaining a seal against it . as best shown in fig2 , the side and rear upper portions 51 and 52 are separated by a notch 55 at the rear corners of the waste drawer 30 . the width of the notch 55 may be great enough to allow the side or rear upper portions 51 and 52 respectively , to be deflected upward and inward without touching , as a result of their contact with the with the side or rear walls 79 of the base 18 . any excess width may create a gap through which debris might find its way between the base 18 and the waste drawer 30 . the injection mold that can manufacture the base 18 may be made and operated less expensively as a result of the seal between the walls of the base 18 and the waste drawer 30 . for example , spilled water and possibly other liquid waste will no longer have the opportunity to collect on the bottom 39 of the base 18 . in addition , this eliminates the worry of liquid leaking through holes in the bottom 39 of the base 18 and onto the floor or carpet . accordingly , the injection mold from which the base 18 may be manufactured , may be made without the use of expensive and maintenance requiring moving elements that would normally be required to create the undercuts of the facing hooks 71 of the gripping fingers 69 . as best illustrated in fig4 , pairs of apertures 88 can be made in the bottom 39 of the base 18 which allow the undercuts of the facing hooks 71 to be created by stationary steel that is an integral part of the upper half of the mold . similarly , referring back to fig1 and 14 , the “ u ” shaped barrier , created by positioning and support ribs 64 and the web 65 , prevent debris from falling through aperture 89 and slot 91 in the side aprons 60 . aperture 89 and slot 91 create the undercuts required for the tapered barb 67 and the laterally extending hook 68 respectively without having to increase the cost of the mold or the maintenance on it caused by moving parts . the gripping fingers 69 , as illustrated in fig4 , project a lesser distance than the short legs 74 . therefore , the base 18 of the pet cage 10 gives the user the option of resting it upon either the floor or a table or it can snap onto the stand 20 . fig1 and 2 illustrate the pet cage 10 engaged with and supported by the stand 20 . in the preferred embodiment , the four legs 22 are illustrated in a rectangular pattern . however , the stand 20 may include more or fewer legs 22 . for example , other stands may have three legs 22 supporting a triangular or circular base 18 . as further illustrated in fig7 and 9 , the legs 22 terminate in a pair of horizontal upper ends 29 that are orientated 90 degrees from each other in the case of a four legged stand 20 , or 60 degrees , for example , if only three legs 22 were used . as best shown in fig9 , near the foot 25 of the multiple legs 22 , but preferably high enough to clear the head of a vacuum cleaner , is an offset kink 92 in each half of the multiple legs 22 . resting upon these offset kinks 92 is a clip 26 which has a hole 93 through which a projecting wire 94 from a corner of a horizontal member 24 descends . the clip 26 is gripped by the leg 22 by virtue of being wedged between its halves . an alternative to the clip 26 would be a bracket with a hole or a wire with a central loop that could be welded to the leg 22 . the horizontal member 24 may stabilize the ends of the legs 22 and give rigidity to the stand 20 . it may also function as a shelf for pet related supplies . referring to fig7 and 8 , the upper ends 29 may be connected to adjacent legs 22 by tubular sleeves 28 . the lengths of the tubular sleeves 28 may be equal to or slightly less than the distance between the two adjacent legs 22 at a point where they make the transition to horizontal at their upper ends 29 . the use of the tubular sleeves 28 in combination with the legs 22 allows for multiple lengths and widths of the stand 20 . the legs 22 are preferably the same for all size stands . in a preferred embodiment , the legs 22 are tightly nested for shipping , storage and packaging purposes . the changes in length and or width of pet cages may be accommodated , for example , by an extra supply of tubular sleeves 28 in various lengths . the cost and storage needs for such sleeves 28 is minimal . the horizontal member 24 , being a thin , low cost part to fabricate and store in inventory would be the only size specific part that may need to be inventoried . thus , a distributor or retailer could afford to inventory a wide range of stands 20 that would require very little shelf space or investment to do so . in an alternative embodiment , the gripping fingers 69 could be configured to directly grip the upper ends 29 of the legs 22 rather than the tubular sleeves 28 . however , as will be shown , the tubular sleeves 28 may contribute considerable strength and convenience to the stand 20 . as best illustrated in fig4 , the lower surface 70 of the bottom 39 of the base 18 of pet cage 10 rests on the tubular sleeve 28 that spans and connects the upper ends 29 of the legs 22 of the stand 20 . the tubular sleeves 28 are kept in contact with the base 18 by the facing hooks 71 of gripping fingers 69 that descend from the base 18 . ideally , the stand 20 is first assembled as illustrated in . fig8 prior to being attached to the pet cage 10 . without the tubular sleeves 28 , the upper ends 29 of the legs 22 would be free to wander laterally and would require one person to hold one leg 22 while another person attempted to engage the upper ends 29 of that one leg 22 with the corresponding two pairs of gripping fingers 69 ( fig4 ) that descend from the base 18 . this would be repeated for each additional leg . while the guiding tapers 72 of the gripping fingers 69 , as illustrated in fig4 , would help somewhat , this would be an awkward assembly . in the preferred embodiment , the tubular sleeves 28 allow one person to easily assemble the stand 20 without the need for any tools . since all the upper ends 29 are being held in an accurate position relative to each other , the cage 10 may be lowered onto an assembled stand 20 with only a slight downward press to releasably snap the cage 10 in place . only a slight lateral shift may be needed to engage the guiding tapers 72 of the gripping fingers 69 onto all the tubular sleeves 28 . the maximum deflection of the gripping fingers 69 is restricted to under the elastic limit of the plastic resin being used . the weight of the cage 10 may be transferred to the stand 20 primarily through the portions of the bottom 39 of the base 18 in the areas immediately above the upper ends 29 of the legs 22 of the stand 20 . however , as is best shown in fig4 and fig6 , these areas may be weakened by the aperture pairs 88 that make possible the molding of the facing hooks 71 without the need for moving parts in the mold for the base 18 . since the contact between the lower surface 70 of the bottom 39 of the base 18 and the tubular sleeve 28 extend for the entire length of the tubular sleeve 28 , any localized deflection in the area of the gripping fingers 69 may result in the load being distributed along the entire length of the tubular sleeves 28 . it is also contemplated that square wire may be used in place of the preferred round wire for the legs 22 and square tubing for the preferred round tubular sleeves 28 . round wire and tubing is preferable because of lower cost and , more importantly , because it allows easier engagement and much easier disengagement with the gripping fingers 69 . the square tubing may offer limited resistance to rotating within the grasp of the gripping fingers 69 . for example , this would be the case when the legs 22 of the stand 20 encounter an obstruction while the pet cage 10 and the stand 20 are being dragged across a floor . to better visualize this , refer to fig2 and 3 . in such an instance , the leg 22 would tend to fulcrum about a point near where the horizontal member 24 is located . depending upon the direction the leg 22 is moving when it struck the obstruction , there may be a tendency for one upper end 29 of the leg 22 to rotate within the grasp of the gripping fingers 69 and the other upper end 29 of the leg 22 wanting to rotate upwardly into the bottom 39 of the base 18 or downward breaking the grip of the facing hooks 71 of the gripping fingers 69 . the tubular sleeve 28 that encompasses the upper end 29 which is subjected to this rotational force , also encompasses the upper end 29 of an adjacent leg 22 . because of this , the tubular sleeve 28 may act as a strong lever arm which may be sufficient to resist the force of this tendency . in the preferred embodiment , the legs 22 may be used with the upper ends 29 and the mating gripping fingers 69 angularly displaced from each other . this allows the use of light engagement forces between them while providing a strong , positive location in both lateral and horizontal directions and the downwardly direction between the stand 20 and the pet cage 10 . the total sum of the grip in the upwardly direction need only be enough to exceed the weight of the stand 20 and any supplies that might be resting on the horizontal member 24 . this will allow the user to carry both the cage 10 and the stand 20 by gripping and lifting the cage 10 . while one upper end 29 and its encompassing sleeve 28 are free to slide axially within the grasp of their mating gripping fingers 69 , the other upper end 29 and its encompassing sleeve 28 are engaged with their mating gripping fingers 69 , which in the case of a four leg stand 20 , is at an angle of 90 degrees to the former upper end 29 . this configuration prevents axial motion of either upper end 29 of leg 22 . in order to eliminate almost any lateral deflection of these upper ends 29 of legs 22 and to help maintain them in an accurate position for easy mating with the base 18 , spaced below the upper end 29 may be the cross tie 27 that stiffens and stabilizes the upper ends 29 of the leg 22 . alternatively , a single bent wire serving as both upper ends 29 which would be welded or fastened to a leg 22 may be used . the leg 22 could be made of wire , sheet metal or plastic . as illustrated in fig1 , the second pet cage 10 ′ may be stacked on the pet cage 10 by use of the stacking spacers 40 . the spacers 40 create space between the cages 10 and 10 ′ for ventilation , light and viewing while also keeping the pet cage 10 ′ positioned directly above the pet cage 10 and resistant to being dislodged from it . this latter accomplishment was made possible by use of bi - directional horizontal engagement with both the base of the second pet cage 10 ′ and the vertical walls 12 and or the roof 13 of the lower pet cage 10 , as oriented in fig1 . the stacking spacers 40 and the base 18 ′ of the second pet cage 10 ′ may also be latched as was previously explained . the latching may stabilize the multiple stacking spacers 40 to prevent movement of one or more of the spacers 40 while the upper pet cage 10 ′ is being lowered in place . fig2 through 29 illustrate a first alternative stacking spacer 40 ′. the first alternative stacking spacer 40 ′ demonstrates an equivalency created by having a main member 41 ′ and a vertical web 47 ′ such that dual , downwardly extending flanges 42 ′ can be employed to engage two adjacent vertical walls 12 of the lower pet cage 10 while maintaining a similar clearance 43 ′ to them . as such , only four stacking spacers 40 ′ would be needed . the upper surface 45 ′ of the cross - member 44 ′ may extend for the entire length of the vertical web 47 ′. the stacking spacer 40 ′ may have only one cross - member 44 ′ and , if so configured , only four pairs of gripping fingers 69 ′ would be required descending from the bottom 39 ′ of the base 18 ′ of the second pet cage 10 ′. the cross - member 44 ′, as shown , is one of many shapes that may be employed to engage the gripping fingers 69 ′. gussets 48 ′ may function similarly to those of the stacking spacer 40 . an end cleat 50 ′, may restrict axial movement , and is displaced a distance from the gussets 48 ′, and more specifically , is displaced a slightly greater distance than the length of the pairs of gripping fingers 69 ′. fig3 and 31 illustrate a second alternative stacking spacer 40 ″. the second stacking spacer 40 ″ is essentially a pair of the stacking spacers 40 with abbreviated main members 41 ″, vertical webs 47 ″ ( fig3 ) and gussets 48 ″. the inner most cross - member 44 ″ at one end is connected to the inner most cross - member 44 ″ at its other end by a connecting web 96 ″. an upper surface 45 ″ of the connecting web 96 ″ is contiguous with the upper surface 45 ″ of the cross - member 44 ″ and similarly serves to support the bottom 39 ′ of the base 18 ′ of the second pet cage 10 ′. the upper surface 45 ″ may be broken near a central portion by clearance notch 97 ″ which functions to avoid interference with the feed runners 76 ′ on the underside of the bottom 39 ′ of the base 18 ′. for purposes of clarity , the feed runners 76 ′ were not illustrated in fig3 . the connecting web 96 ″ functions as the means to restrict the axial movement of the cross - member 44 ″ within their respective pairs of gripping fingers 69 ′ by making the cross - member 44 ″ at one end serve to restrict the axial motion of the cross - member 44 ″ at the other end . obviously , only four of the stacking spacer 40 ″ would be required , but eight pairs of gripping fingers 69 ′ would be needed . fig3 and 33 illustrate a third alternative stacking spacer 40 ′″. the third alternative stacking spacer 40 ′″ may function with the base 18 ′ of a second pet cage 10 ′ that was or was not equipped with pairs of gripping fingers 69 ′. the stacking member 40 ′″ has a main member 41 ′″ which rests upon the roof 13 of the pet cage 10 near corners of the pet cage 10 so that two downward extending flanges 42 ′″ overhang two adjacent vertical walls 12 with a clearance 43 ′″. the stacking spacers 40 ′″ may attach to the base 18 ′ of the second pet cage 10 ′ by frictionally gripping sides of both reaches of short legs 74 ′ that are located at the corners of the base 18 ′ of the second pet cage 10 ′. this is accomplished by two upward extending channels 98 ′″ whose gap 99 ′″ has approximately the same draft and width but a greater depth than that of the short legs 74 ′ of the second pet cage 10 ′. the upper surfaces 45 ′″ of the upward extending channels 98 ′″ function to support the lower surface 70 ′ of the bottom 39 ′ of the second pet cage 10 ′. alternatively , two upward extending channels 98 ′″ may be separated , as illustrated in fig3 and 33 , or connected with their contour accommodating that of the short legs 74 ′ of the second pet cage 10 ′. there may be four of the stacking spacers 40 ′″ required to support and grip a rectangular base 18 ′ of a second pet cage 10 ′. by frictionally gripping surfaces of short legs 74 ′ that are at right angles to each other , axial movement relative to the short legs 74 ′ is prevented . the preferred and / or alternative embodiments of the pet cage 10 , the base 18 , the waste drawer 30 , the stacking spacer 40 or the stand 20 , may include circular , triangular , pentagonal , hexagonal or octagonal configurations without departing from the spirit of the invention . the foregoing description is given for clearness of understanding only , and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom , as modifications within the scope of the invention may be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art .