Some people say they enjoy being held, and I do believe it depends on the chin, but the grand majority of chins that come in the rescue are not thrilled about being held. They do fine if you want to hold them for a few minutes, but they're definitely not lap cats. Even the chins that I've had for going on 10 years are still not crazy about being held, but they will come up to the front of the cage for a rosehip or other treats. But I think their personality is more like that of a cat -- very independent, could live fine with or without you. Aloof kind of. There are exceptions, sure, but most of the rescue chins I've had over the years fit the "cat" personality to a T.
As for chinchilla cages, it depends on how you want to go about getting a cage. If you get one from the pet store, I can't picture any that are large enough for a chin that are under $100, and those would all need modifications (plastic shelves taken out, wood shelves put in). The cheaper route would be to find a cage on craigslist (or whatever your local classified site is) and make it into a chin cage. I've gotten Ferret Nations off of craigslist locally for $100 and then some extra money in shelves and you've got yourself a HUGE chin cage for a fraction of what it would cost new. Thats how I would personally go about it, get a used one somewhere, scrub it down and clean it up, and put in your own shelves. Considerably cheaper in the long run, and often times, just as good as getting a new cage.
As far as the cage being smelly, a chin cage only has a noticeable odor if you haven't cleaned it in too long. Most of my chin cages can go about a week before they start smelling. Chins themselves don't have an odor, and neither does their poo/pee, but if you let it sit too long without cleaning it, the ammonia will build up and it will start to smell. But if you clean it regularly, there shouldn't be a smell.
Hope this helps!
