Kitty Crates

What kind of would all of you reccomend for taking my Ragdoll to the vet, car and other places in. I will not get him for several weeks but want to get all the important stuff ahead of time.

Jena

I bought one of those soft airline type carriers. I can fold it up when I'm not using it and it's a heck of a lot easier to carry Tiri in than the hard plastic carrier.

If you go with the fabric carriers, just make sure the top is sturdy. I have noticed that most carriers like this fold in on them and they get really ticked off.
When you choose a carrier, just make sure that your kitten/cat can't get out. One of the reasons for putting your cat in a carrier while in the car is to prevent accidents and if you were to be in a car accident, they wont be tossed into the road or hurt. Also, Ragdolls get fairly big, so keep that in mind when buying one. You want one big enough to accomodate them at thier largest size.

"Also, Ragdolls get fairly big, so keep that in mind when buying one. You want one big enough to accomodate them at thier largest size."

That is excellent advice about getting a carrier to account for a cat growing large. Or even a somewhat claustrophobic cat. Our first cat was a very small 6.5 cat, so we got a small carrier. Her sons (she was pregnant when we got her) wound up a whole lot bigger than her! They could fit in the small carrier, but it would be cramped, plus they won't go in it, which I don't blame them for. So we got a large carrier that a small dog would fit in. Wouldn't you know, our newer small cat won't go in the small carrier either. It is a little embarrassing lugging a large carrier with a small cat in it, but at least we have a safe way to transport her.

We since bought another med/large carrier that opens in the front and the top. Plus, it is collapsable. If someone is getting a carrier for the first time, I would really recommend one that opens from both the top and front. If the cat won't go in from the front, you can lower them down from the top.

Thank you all for the help!!
Is any brand better than another?
I had not thought about making sure the sixe I bouught would be large enough for when it is grown.
Jena

This is the one I got:
http://www.petco.com/product_info.as...=1&dept_id=623

Tiri is 10.6 lbs and has plenty of room to move around in it. The bottom is rigid so it doesn't collapse on her. It has both a top opening and side opening.

The largest cat I've put in it so far was 15 lbs and she seemed to have enough room to move around.

Oh, Tamara/Lil Red, that is a great Sherpa bag! (Hello) I have a Sherpa bag, but it is smaller and doesn't have the privacy flaps. Or, a seat belt strap! That's a great feature! I've been worried about the carriers not being secured. I need to rig up some safe way to do that.

I also have a non-Sherpa soft carrier about the size and shape of your real Shepa, but that "other" brand does sag in on top of the cat. I should have laid out the money for the better quality Sherpa, as I don't use the "saggy" one now. That mistake did sort of work out for the good, though, since I replaced it with the large metal carrier that has the top and front entry. The soft carriers are very nice, but the plastic/metal ones are good for longer road trips as you can fit a small litter pan in them (as long as you get one that is large enough- which one should if the cat will be in it for hours.)

I can't believe Tiri is already 10.6 lbs. I keep thinking of her as a little kitten. That picture of her on the orange chair is not her 10.6 lb self, is it?

I'm glad I went the more expensive one. Tiri seems to like it and I can secure it in the car. I also like being able to unzip just the corner and give her a scritch while we're traveling.

I do have a large hard plastic crate that I use as "recovery room" but Tiri didn't want to be there after her spay - she thought a paper bag was a better choice .

She weighed 5.5 lbs in the chair pic. That was her first day home with us. She weighed 10.2 in the cat tree pic and 10.6 when I weighed her yesterday.

Next Friday she will be 1 year old. It seems like I just brought her home. Ah, where does the time go?

Seems like I just brought the fosters home and they're 10 weeks old and the shelter asked me to bring them back tomorrow.

<< I do have a large hard plastic crate that I use as "recovery room" but Tiri didn't want to be there after her spay - she thought a paper bag was a better choice .>>

LOL. Oh well, as long as she rested and recovered well. Yes, the time does go fast so one needs to keep snapping those pictures. They change from kittens to cats faster than one would think (Jena63, a good camera is another "important" thing to get.)

I'm sure you will miss your foster kitties, Tamara. That is so great that you were able to foster them.

Jena63, another important thing is to get several scratchers- some flat and some tall. If a cat has suitable scratchers right from the start, it is very easy to get them to just scratch on them and not furniture. My five cats do not scratch my furniture. We do have many different scratchers in various rooms. That's important, as when they get the urge to scratch (which is a very natural, actual need cats have, they don't see the sense in traveling throught the house to find a scratcher. They really love the cheap corrugated cardboard flat scratchers and you can get several to put in several rooms.

It's funny. The foster kittens love the Alpine Scratcher. Tiri has no interest in the cardboard but she loves to go after the dangling mouse inside it .

Definitely, good advice to get a variety of scratchers & the all important digital camera to catch everything. A floor to ceiling cat tree is also good to have.

Oops, gotta go. Tiri is pacing in front of the monitor (she knows that we're late playing DaBird tonight).