Cat Carrier Types

 

What is the best cat carrier?

A good question. To be honest, many answers exist.

How many cats do you own? This answer can determine the quantity. And you think one large carrier can handle 3 house mates. Physically, it might be feasible.

But …

Believe me, from experience this isn’t the case. Had carpet installed in the living room. Which was adjacent to the other rooms. Two cats were placed in one room together with cat bed, food, water, and litter box in a 2 X 3 foot cage. It was open-barred for them to watch things and enjoy the breeze from an open window.

Twenty minutes passed.

A cat fight erupted. Litter was flying everywhere.

These 2 slept together for hours on the sofa and now confined they couldn’t stand each other. Hilarious from the perspective of such chaos. But couldn’t work for the next few hours until they completed the job. We got the larger of our cat carriers out and one small one. Got the large one ready for one cat. Put second cat in the small carrier. Cleaned up the cage and returned her to continue with the confinement.  Note: all products on this page are clickable links.

Then the time we took 4 cats to the vet. One rode in the small carrier. The other 3 in the largest. A 30 minute drive to the vet. Muffled meows from the carriers on the trip and no fights.

We thought everything went well until we opened the door to retrieve the large cat carrier.

There in the middle sat Andy, covered in cat drool.

Poor kid, he looked pathetic. Freckles had drooled over his head and body. She saturated him with cat saliva. Had a towel in the car and tried to get him dry.

Got into the vet’s office and found he and Rascal were both wet. Funny, but not so pleasant for the drool soaked cats. Vet’s staff got more towels to help dry the cats and inside of the carrier. Put Freckles in the small carrier for the ride home.

Small Cat Carrier Advantage

A small cat carrier to fit one cat in is fine when you are taking them on a quick trip to the vet. Even with a large carrier to fit two cats; might not be the best plan.

Larger Cat Carrier Usage

Taking your cat for longer distances. Best to have one that is large enough they can stand. I traveled 5 hours with Molly; to where we live now. She got to use the larger carrier. Even when we had to vacate our house for the “open house” showings, we used the larger carrier.

We had taken the larger carrier to pick up Lily and Lucy 3 hours from here. Lily was nine months old. We put her in the small carrier. Transferred her to the large one in the car. Lucy was so tiny at 4 months old. She had plenty of room. We left her in the small one, a wiser choice.

A fuzzy pad in the bottom and a round cozy bed to curl up in protects them from any bumping. My favorite small carrier has plastic bars to protect their paws if they should struggle to get out. One cat wanting to get out of the metal thinner bars caused bleeding around her claws. Prefer the kind that can open on either side. It is great for dumping them out at the vet’s office. The door detaches. No prying them from the carrier.

Cats grow enormous when you try to put them in the carrier. They are huge when you arrive at the vet’s office. Once they are out on the table, they shrink. No problem getting them back in the carrier. “Common cat’s law of physics.”

Soft Cat Carriers

The soft sided carriers are easier to carry as they have straps. If you are transporting your cat on an airline for cabin travel, it makes sense to use the softer ones. Or when walking to take your cat to a destination. The hard carriers don’t conform to your body and don’t have long straps for packing.

Hard Cat Carriers

When traveling in the car I prefer hard sides that seat belts can secure the carrier, keeping your pet safe if there was a crash or you need to slam on your brakes. The reason for a bed in the carrier, to protect them from any jarring. You seat belt everyone else in the car, only right to seat belt your pet for safety for them and anyone else in the vehicle.

More Information on transporting your pet:

When picking out a mat to fit in the bottom of a carrier choose one that is comfortable. Important to have one that you can machine wash and dry.

This bed looks lovely and cozy. It should fit in the small carrier, but I wonder if there would be ample room for the larger cat. This would definitely fit in the larger carrier. Extra bed around will make the cats happy anyways. The mats and small cat beds for my carriers I got years ago at CFA cat shows by a couple of ladies that handmade them. They have lasted through many washings. As stated earlier in this article, I like having higher sides for the cats to protect them from any jarring. Just again, make sure whatever you decide to purchase, that it is completely machine wash and dry.

This cat carrier has more features than my older model of small carrier which I love. It is very similar in that it has a left or right open and the door is removable. Great feature for the Vet’s office.

TSA Airline Approved carrier. I have not used one as I haven’t flown in years with a cat or plan to in the near future. If you do travel with your pet it seems as if this has lots of pluses, even for ease of travel with your wheeled luggage.

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