diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 773c4e5e8..80ff638e2 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -69,7 +69,9 @@ install:
         sudo apt-get -y install python3 python3-dev libsmpeg-dev libswscale-dev libavformat-dev libavcodec-dev libjpeg-dev libtiff4-dev libX11-dev libmtdev-dev;
         sudo apt-get -y install python3-setuptools build-essential libgl1-mesa-dev libgles2-mesa-dev;
         sudo apt-get -y install xvfb pulseaudio xsel;
-        pip install --upgrade cython pillow pytest coveralls docutils PyInstaller;
+        export CYTHON_INSTALL=$(KIVY_NO_CONSOLELOG=1 python3 -c "from kivy.tools.packaging.cython_cfg import get_cython_versions; print(get_cython_versions()[0])"  --config "kivy:log_level:error");
+        python3 -m pip install -I "$CYTHON_INSTALL";
+        python3 -m pip install --upgrade pillow pytest coveralls docutils PyInstaller;
       fi;
       if [ "${RUN}" == "docs" ]; then
         python3 -m pip install --upgrade sphinx==1.7.9 sphinxcontrib-blockdiag sphinxcontrib-seqdiag sphinxcontrib-actdiag sphinxcontrib-nwdiag;
@@ -98,6 +100,7 @@ install:
       sudo installer -package gstreamer-1.0-1.10.2-x86_64.pkg -target /;
       sudo installer -package gstreamer-1.0-devel-1.10.2-x86_64.pkg -target /;
       curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py;
+
       if [ "${RUN}" == "app" ]  && ([ "${TRAVIS_EVENT_TYPE}" == "cron" ] || [ "${TRAVIS_TAG}" != "" ]  || [[ "$TRAVIS_COMMIT_MESSAGE" =~ "[build app osx]" ]]); then
           curl -O -L http://www.sveinbjorn.org/files/software/platypus/platypus4.8.zip;
           unzip platypus4.8.zip;
@@ -108,13 +111,14 @@ install:
           cp -a Platypus-4.8/Platypus.app/Contents/Resources/MainMenu.nib /usr/local/share/platypus/MainMenu.nib;
           chmod -R 755 /usr/local/share/platypus;
       fi;
-      if [ "${RUN}" == "unit" ]; then
-         export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/Library/Python/3.5/bin;
-         curl -O -L https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.5.2/python-3.5.2-macosx10.6.pkg;
-         sudo installer -package python-3.5.2-macosx10.6.pkg -target /;
-         python3 get-pip.py --user;
-         python3 -m pip install --upgrade --user cython pillow pytest mock docutils PyInstaller;
-      fi;
+
+      export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/Library/Python/3.5/bin;
+      curl -O -L https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.5.2/python-3.5.2-macosx10.6.pkg;
+      sudo installer -package python-3.5.2-macosx10.6.pkg -target /;
+      python3 get-pip.py --user;
+      export CYTHON_INSTALL=$(KIVY_NO_CONSOLELOG=1 python3 -c "from kivy.tools.packaging.cython_cfg import get_cython_versions; print(get_cython_versions()[0])"  --config "kivy:log_level:error");
+      python3 -m pip install -I --user "$CYTHON_INSTALL";
+      python3 -m pip install --upgrade --user pillow pytest mock docutils PyInstaller;
     fi;
 
 before_script:
@@ -148,9 +152,9 @@ script:
       fi;
       if [ "${RUN}" == "wheels" ] && [ "${TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST}" == "false" ]  && ([ "${TRAVIS_EVENT_TYPE}" == "cron" ] || [ "${TRAVIS_TAG}" != "" ] || [[ "$TRAVIS_COMMIT_MESSAGE" =~ "[build wheel]" ]] || [[ "$TRAVIS_COMMIT_MESSAGE" =~ "[build wheel linux]" ]]); then
         mkdir wheelhouse;
-        wheel_date=$(python -c "from datetime import datetime; print(datetime.utcnow().strftime('%Y%m%d'))");
+        wheel_date=$(python3 -c "from datetime import datetime; print(datetime.utcnow().strftime('%Y%m%d'))");
         git_tag=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD);
-        tag_name=$(python -c "from __future__ import print_function; import kivy; _, tag, n = kivy.parse_kivy_version(kivy.__version__); print(tag + n) if n is not None else print(tag or 'something')"  --config "kivy:log_level:error");
+        tag_name=$(KIVY_NO_CONSOLELOG=1 python3 -c "import kivy; _, tag, n = kivy.parse_kivy_version(kivy.__version__); print(tag + n) if n is not None else print(tag or 'something')"  --config "kivy:log_level:error");
         wheel_name="$tag_name.$wheel_date.$git_tag-";
 
         chmod +x .ci/build-wheels-linux.sh;
@@ -182,7 +186,7 @@ script:
 
           git clone https://github.com/kivy/kivy-sdk-packager;
           pushd kivy-sdk-packager/osx;
-          app_date=$(python -c "from datetime import datetime; print(datetime.utcnow().strftime('%Y%m%d'))");
+          app_date=$(python3 -c "from datetime import datetime; print(datetime.utcnow().strftime('%Y%m%d'))");
           git_tag=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD);
 
           yes | ./create-osx-bundle.sh python3 master > output.txt;
@@ -209,7 +213,8 @@ script:
           python$pyver_short -m pip install git+http://github.com/tito/osxrelocator --user;
 
           python$pyver_short -m pip install --upgrade --user pip setuptools wheel;
-          python$pyver_short -m pip install --upgrade --user cython pytest wheel pillow mock docutils;
+          python$pyver_short -m pip install -I --user "$CYTHON_INSTALL";
+          python$pyver_short -m pip install --upgrade --user pytest wheel pillow mock docutils;
           python$pyver_short -m pip install --upgrade delocate;
 
           USE_SDL2=1 USE_GSTREAMER=1 python$pyver_short setup.py build_ext --inplace>output.txt;
@@ -246,9 +251,9 @@ script:
           cp dist/*.whl ../wheelhouse/;
         done;
 
-        wheel_date=$(python -c "from datetime import datetime; print(datetime.utcnow().strftime('%Y%m%d'))");
+        wheel_date=$(python3 -c "from datetime import datetime; print(datetime.utcnow().strftime('%Y%m%d'))");
         git_tag=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD);
-        tag_name=$(python -c "from __future__ import print_function; import kivy; _, tag, n = kivy.parse_kivy_version(kivy.__version__); print(tag + n) if n is not None else print(tag or 'something')"  --config "kivy:log_level:error");
+        tag_name=$(KIVY_NO_CONSOLELOG=1 python3 -c "import kivy; _, tag, n = kivy.parse_kivy_version(kivy.__version__); print(tag + n) if n is not None else print(tag or 'something')"  --config "kivy:log_level:error");
         wheel_name="$tag_name.$wheel_date.$git_tag-";
         ls ../wheelhouse/;
 
diff --git a/kivy/tools/packaging/cython_cfg.py b/kivy/tools/packaging/cython_cfg.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..138b15d18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kivy/tools/packaging/cython_cfg.py
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+import configparser
+from os.path import join, dirname
+import textwrap
+
+__all__ = ('get_cython_versions', 'get_cython_msg')
+
+
+def get_cython_versions(setup_cfg=''):
+    _cython_config = configparser.ConfigParser()
+    if setup_cfg:
+        _cython_config.read(setup_cfg)
+    else:
+        _cython_config.read(
+            join(dirname(__file__), '..', '..', '..', 'setup.cfg'))
+
+    cython_min = _cython_config['kivy']['cython_min']
+    cython_max = _cython_config['kivy']['cython_max']
+    cython_unsupported = _cython_config['kivy']['cython_exclude'].split(',')
+    # ref https://github.com/cython/cython/issues/1968
+
+    cython_requires = (
+        'cython>={min_version},<={max_version},{exclusion}'.format(
+            min_version=cython_min,
+            max_version=cython_max,
+            exclusion=','.join('!=%s' % excl for excl in cython_unsupported),
+        )
+    )
+
+    return cython_requires, cython_min, cython_max, cython_unsupported
+
+
+def get_cython_msg():
+    cython_requires, cython_min, cython_max, cython_unsupported = \
+        get_cython_versions()
+    cython_unsupported_append = '''
+
+    Please note that the following versions of Cython are not supported
+    at all: {}'''.format(', '.join(map(str, cython_unsupported)))
+
+    cython_min_msg = textwrap.dedent('''
+    This version of Cython is not compatible with Kivy. Please upgrade to
+    at least version {0}, preferably the newest supported version {1}.
+
+    If your platform provides a Cython package, make sure you have upgraded
+    to the newest version. If the newest version available is still too low,
+    please remove it and install the newest supported Cython via pip:
+
+        pip install -I "{3}"{2}
+    '''.format(cython_min, cython_max,
+               cython_unsupported_append if cython_unsupported else '',
+               cython_requires))
+
+    cython_max_msg = textwrap.dedent('''
+    This version of Cython is untested with Kivy. While this version may
+    work perfectly fine, it is possible that you may experience issues.
+    Please downgrade to a supported version, or update cython_max in
+    setup.cfg to your version of Cython. It is best to use the newest
+    supported version, {1}, but the minimum supported version is {0}.
+
+    If your platform provides a Cython package, check if you can downgrade
+    to a supported version. Otherwise, uninstall the platform package and
+    install Cython via pip:
+
+        pip install -I "{3}"{2}
+    '''.format(cython_min, cython_max,
+               cython_unsupported_append if cython_unsupported else '',
+               cython_requires))
+
+    cython_unsupported_msg = textwrap.dedent('''
+    This version of Cython suffers from known bugs and is unsupported.
+    Please install the newest supported version, {1}, if possible, but
+    the minimum supported version is {0}.
+
+    If your platform provides a Cython package, check if you can install
+    a supported version. Otherwise, uninstall the platform package and
+    install Cython via pip:
+
+        pip install -I "{3}"{2}
+    '''.format(cython_min, cython_max, cython_unsupported_append,
+               cython_requires))
+
+    return cython_min_msg, cython_max_msg, cython_unsupported_msg
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index c43512a74..8cfa7053d 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -4,3 +4,7 @@ cover-package=kivy
 with-id=1
 verbosity=2
 logging-level=DEBUG
+[kivy]
+cython_min=0.24
+cython_max=0.29.10
+cython_exclude=0.27,0.27.2
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index fe4f5f0b7..d97a2b089 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ from distutils.command.build_ext import build_ext
 from distutils.version import LooseVersion
 from distutils.sysconfig import get_python_inc
 from collections import OrderedDict
-from time import time
+from time import time, sleep
 from subprocess import check_output, CalledProcessError
 from datetime import datetime
 from sysconfig import get_paths
@@ -83,23 +83,6 @@ def get_version(filename='kivy/version.py'):
     return VERSION
 
 
-MIN_CYTHON_STRING = '0.24'
-MIN_CYTHON_VERSION = LooseVersion(MIN_CYTHON_STRING)
-MAX_CYTHON_STRING = '0.29.9'
-MAX_CYTHON_VERSION = LooseVersion(MAX_CYTHON_STRING)
-CYTHON_UNSUPPORTED = (
-    # ref https://github.com/cython/cython/issues/1968
-    '0.27', '0.27.2'
-)
-CYTHON_REQUIRES_STRING = (
-    'cython>={min_version},<={max_version},{exclusion}'.format(
-        min_version=MIN_CYTHON_STRING,
-        max_version=MAX_CYTHON_STRING,
-        exclusion=','.join('!=%s' % excl for excl in CYTHON_UNSUPPORTED),
-    )
-)
-
-
 def getoutput(cmd, env=None):
     import subprocess
     p = subprocess.Popen(cmd, shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
@@ -199,57 +182,7 @@ for key in list(c_options.keys()):
         print('Environ change {0} -> {1}'.format(key, value))
         c_options[key] = value
 
-
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Cython check
-# on python-for-android and kivy-ios, cython usage is external
-
-cython_unsupported_append = '''
-
-  Please note that the following versions of Cython are not supported
-  at all: {}
-'''.format(', '.join(map(str, CYTHON_UNSUPPORTED)))
-
-cython_min = '''\
-  This version of Cython is not compatible with Kivy. Please upgrade to
-  at least version {0}, preferably the newest supported version {1}.
-
-  If your platform provides a Cython package, make sure you have upgraded
-  to the newest version. If the newest version available is still too low,
-  please remove it and install the newest supported Cython via pip:
-
-    pip install -I Cython=={1}{2}\
-'''.format(MIN_CYTHON_STRING, MAX_CYTHON_STRING,
-           cython_unsupported_append if CYTHON_UNSUPPORTED else '')
-
-cython_max = '''\
-  This version of Cython is untested with Kivy. While this version may
-  work perfectly fine, it is possible that you may experience issues. If
-  you do have issues, please downgrade to a supported version. It is
-  best to use the newest supported version, {1}, but the minimum
-  supported version is {0}.
-
-  If your platform provides a Cython package, check if you can downgrade
-  to a supported version. Otherwise, uninstall the platform package and
-  install Cython via pip:
-
-    pip install -I Cython=={1}{2}\
-'''.format(MIN_CYTHON_STRING, MAX_CYTHON_STRING,
-           cython_unsupported_append if CYTHON_UNSUPPORTED else '')
-
-cython_unsupported = '''\
-  This version of Cython suffers from known bugs and is unsupported.
-  Please install the newest supported version, {1}, if possible, but
-  the minimum supported version is {0}.
-
-  If your platform provides a Cython package, check if you can install
-  a supported version. Otherwise, uninstall the platform package and
-  install Cython via pip:
-
-    pip install -I Cython=={1}{2}\
-'''.format(MIN_CYTHON_STRING, MAX_CYTHON_STRING,
-           cython_unsupported_append)
-
 # We want to be able to install kivy as a wheel without a dependency
 # on cython, but we also want to use cython where possible as a setup
 # time dependency through `setup_requires` if building from source.
@@ -412,6 +345,29 @@ def _check_and_fix_sdl2_mixer(f_path):
 environ['KIVY_DOC_INCLUDE'] = '1'
 import kivy
 
+# Cython check
+# on python-for-android and kivy-ios, cython usage is external
+from kivy.tools.packaging.cython_cfg import get_cython_versions, get_cython_msg
+CYTHON_REQUIRES_STRING, MIN_CYTHON_STRING, MAX_CYTHON_STRING, \
+    CYTHON_UNSUPPORTED = get_cython_versions()
+cython_min_msg, cython_max_msg, cython_unsupported_msg = get_cython_msg()
+
+if can_use_cython:
+    import Cython
+    print('\nFound Cython at', Cython.__file__)
+
+    cy_version_str = Cython.__version__
+    cy_ver = LooseVersion(cy_version_str)
+    print('Detected supported Cython version {}'.format(cy_version_str))
+
+    if cy_ver < LooseVersion(MIN_CYTHON_STRING):
+        print(cython_min_msg)
+    elif cy_ver in CYTHON_UNSUPPORTED:
+        print(cython_unsupported_msg)
+    elif cy_ver > LooseVersion(MAX_CYTHON_STRING):
+        print(cython_max_msg)
+    sleep(1)
+
 # extra build commands go in the cmdclass dict {'command-name': CommandClass}
 # see tools.packaging.{platform}.build.py for custom build commands for
 # portable packages. Also e.g. we use build_ext command from cython if its