I am a fan of caging.  For several reasons.  First, it feeds my desire for control.  Being able to lock my slave in to her cage and know she is stuck there until I choose to let her out just makes me feel good in a way I can't really even articulate.  I also enjoy, and appreciate, that in those moments she is vulnerable to me and my desires.  She has no where to go, no way of resisting me or what I may want to do.  Granted, a true slave is almost always vulnerable to her Master, but I like the physical manifestation that comes with caging.  She is also dependent on me.  Should I choose to leave her in there for an extended period of time, she will have to depend on me to provide for her.  Literally.  And by contrast, that means I also have the option of not providing for her. 

Second... and I recognize this is somewhat juvenile, but hey I'm entitled... is that I like that I can incorporate the cage in to my slave's routine and behavioral conditioning.  My parents have three dogs.  When they aren't home, the dogs are kept in cages in my parents' bedroom.  They're trained to know that when my parents say "go home" that means they need to go get in their cages.  And they do.  Dogs like and respond well to routine.  Slaves like and respond well to routine too.  I'm not saying slaves are dogs, but I find something delightfully dirty (yeah, I know, bad alliteration) in the idea of treating my slave like one in some ways.  I enjoy the parallel between how I treat my slave and how my parents treat their dogs.  I can going to visit my parents, with my slave by my side, and having my parents tell their dogs to "go home" and, out of habit, have my slave start to react as well before she catches herself.

Third, I do believe a cage can be a constructive tool in the M/s relationship.  Even though I talked about the idea of being able to do anything I want to my slave while she is locked in her cage, the reality is I don't.  I want my slave to feel like her cage is a safe place.  A place she can go and not have to worry about what might happen to her.  It is a relatively comfortable space she can get away to if she is ever feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, or just needs time to think and process the days events.

Fourth, it is a useful tool for me.  Reality is, no matter how great my slave is, there will be times when I will just want her out of the way.  The cage provides me a way to accomplish that.  Put her in her cage and go about my business as though she isn't there.

For me, caging is both fun and useful.  Hopefully, my slave will feel the same way.  She would at least have to tolerate it, because it would be a regular part of her life.

I read a journal entry recently where someone quoted a post they read that talked about the idea of being a cup.  If your cup is already full of your own wants and desires, then there is no room for your Master's wants and desires.  You have to empty your cup so it has room for what your Master wants you to be.  A nice analogy.  I would continue it by saying that, while you don't want your cup to be full of your own desires, neither should it be completely empty.

An empty cup is fine if all I'm looking for is a session or a short-term arrangement. Because in those situations all I care about is your obedience and expressing whatever particular kink is on my mind that day.  But for a long-term relationship, the slave needs to be able to bring more than just her obedience to the table.  Because obedience, by itself, will not hold my interest over the long term.  What holds my interest is who she is and how she complements me and my life. 

Think about it.  An empty cup, which is to say a slave with no desires or thoughts of her own, may as well just be a sex doll.  There to be positioned however I want in that moment, used, and then put away.  To be fair, that is exactly what some slaves are looking for.  Okay.  I would challenge your ability to find long-term fulfillment like that, but to each their own.  I want someone who brings something to the table of herself. Something I can work with and build on.  Something I can mold to fit my desires while still appreciating what was originally there.

So don't be an empty cup.  Be clay.  Be malleable.  Let me work you into the form I want, knowing that I could change it tomorrow and that's okay.  You're malleable and you can handle it.