Cat carrier recommendations?

I have two cats - Swanie is 25 or so pounds, not just overweight (which he is) but a big cat and solid body type.  Cindy is 5 pounds and very tiny. 

I need to get a new carrier, and I'd like to get one that would accommodate both of them.  The problem is Swanie, and I want something that is sturdy and I would even like to have something with wheels on it.  It would also need to come apart easily, top off that is. 

I've been looking, and don't see anything in the stores that looks particularly enticing.  I can't tell the ones online how sturdy they might be.

Or should I just go ahead and get two carriers, one for him and one for her?  Cindy goes to the vet far more than Swanie does (for now anyway).

Any thoughts / recommendations will be appreciated

  It is best to have separate carriers for them especially for vet visits. Reason being no matter how well they get along at home, they are easily confused by the scent of other animals at vets, or each other after a procedure and one could turn on the other.

     Sounds like Swanie needs a larger size, hard carrier ...... Here is a link to several different carriers that have been reviewed through this site......

http://www.thecatsite.com/products/category/carriers-crates

  I have the Marchioro Clipper Cayman 2 Pet Carrier.......for Maia.

Here is the carrier we use for the rescue.

https://www.petedge.com/zpetedgemai...ing=guardian+gear+soft+crate&wec-locale=en_US

We get the yellow xx-small size. It has a steal frame and is collapsible (though I do not advise doing this as it is a bit of a pain to get together.). The top, front and 2 sides zip open/closed. I have put 20+ pounds of cat in one carrier at a time with no problem.

On a whole, I do not like plastic carriers as I have had several break due to weight (typically with 16+ lb cats.) However, I do like the Petmate 2-door crate. It has bolts that hold the top and bottom together; though, I do still support the bottom when carrying an adult cat.

http://www.petmate.com/2-door-kennel-2

Though I have never used them, there are pet strollers with removable carriers. I also found this carrier on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CIYGI4/?tag=&tag=thecatsite

I recently bought this carrier and I plan on reviewing it soon. I have one for each cat. And I LOVE them. You could get the small size for your little one, but the large will not be big enough to accommodate your larger cat.

http://www.thecatsite.com/products/oxgord-comfort-carrier-soft-sided-pet-carrier

My mom has two large boys, 19 and 21 pounds, she has a medium soft sided pet carrier from walmart (I can't find a link), But it looks like this and she loves them! Very sturdy. The medium is up to 22lbs so you'd need the large.


My friend has this for his dog. It's pricey, but I think it would fit your requirements.


Regardless, I think you need two, your cats vary in size way too much, any thing that fits the bigger one will swallow the smaller and cats are more comfortable if they don't slide around in their carriers.

cheylink said:

 
  It is best to have separate carriers for them especially for vet visits. Reason being no matter how well they get along at home, they are easily confused by the scent of other animals at vets, or each other after a procedure and one could turn on the other.

     Sounds like Swanie needs a larger size, hard carrier ...... Here is a link to several different carriers that have been reviewed through this site......

http://www.thecatsite.com/products/category/carriers-crates

  I have the Marchioro Clipper Cayman 2 Pet Carrier.......for Maia.

Click to expand...

It's not likely that they will be going to the vet at the same time or in the same carrier if they did.  We make it a practice to take them separately, so that's not really an issue.  We have one old carrier that we got from a neighbor when they left and had to buy a different one for plane travel, and a really big one that I bought hoping it would be good for Swanie.  It's really too big though, and doesn't seem all that sturdy.

Thank you for the link, I've been looking them over.  It's so hard to tell when you can't physically see them.  I think for Swanie I would need a hard one that you can take the top off, but I wish they made one like that with wheels.

Much thanks to everyone for your recommendations.  I'm still looking at all the options.  I think there are too many options, it's confusing

CatMomma627 said:

My friend has this for his dog. It's pricey, but I think it would fit your requirements.


Regardless, I think you need two, your cats vary in size way too much, any thing that fits the bigger one will swallow the smaller and cats are more comfortable if they don't slide around in their carriers.

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I have this same carrier (in red) for Mia. She is very comfortable in it as she will nap in it during the day.  lol   She doesn't mind getting in it to go places either. It might be because she can see all around herself at whats happening.

I have two separate carriers for my two cats who are about the same size (9.5lbs). One is a small soft carrier with a shoulder strap, and the other is a hard plastic carrier that is a little bigger than the soft one. When I have to take them to their annual exams, I find it easier to have one strapped on my shoulder, so that I can carry the other one by hand and still have one hand free. They do not seem to mind the carriers being small, as they are scared and want to hide. The small one with the shoulder strap has zippers you can unzip to put your hand in to pet them, which seems to help them calm down. I can't do that with the hard one, but my girl is not as freaked out as my boy (boys are such wusses...jk jk )

If you have a soft sided carrier - how do you get your cat out of it at the vet's offce?  We have to take the top off the hard one to get Swanie out, he won't come out on his own and can't pull him out either.

I always make sure there is a top entry to open and take the cat out that way if needed.

CatPack said:

I always make sure there is a top entry to open and take the cat out that way if needed.

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I doubt we could lift him out of it.  We take the top totally off the hard one and they either work on him while he's still in the carrier, or sedate him.  But the carrier we have is old and we literally have to take screw driver and pliers to get it off and back together. I'm also nervous about it giving way with heavy boy weighing it down.  The only carriers I can find for a cat his weight are huge.  We have a huge one already, and that just doesn't work well at  all.  If I could just see them, but even looking at petsmart all they have is  half the carrier.  I can't imagine people walking out with carriers but I guess they must.

Nature's Miracle makes hard shell carriers that have sliding latched that lock on all sides (except front.) I have used the smaller versions; but, I see on their website that they do make a crate that holds up to 25 lbs.

http://www.natures-miracle.com/prod...crates-with-odor-control-charcoal-filter.aspx

I don't trust very many hard crates with large cats, because I have had too many either fall apart with the cat in it, or have the handle break while carrying.

But, with the type of latching this has, it holds together better, but still allows you to dismantle it fairly easily.

The new carriers I have (Oxgord) have openings on both ends so, I can ake them out. I get that my cats are smaller, but even my moms 20+ pounds boys, she just pulls them out at the vet.

Maybe I have always just had easy cats. but I've never had a problem getting them out at the vet.

CatMomma627 said:

 
The new carriers I have (Oxgord) have openings on both ends so, I can ake them out. I get that my cats are smaller, but even my moms 20+ pounds boys, she just pulls them out at the vet.

Maybe I have always just had easy cats. but I've never had a problem getting them out at the vet.

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Perhaps your cats have not been eager to use whatever means at their disposal to prevent you from pulling them out (teeth and claws).  My Swanie is normally a very gentle, loving kitty, but when he gets scared (like at the vet's) he will not hesitate to attempt to bite or scratch.

CatPack said:

Nature's Miracle makes hard shell carriers that have sliding latched that lock on all sides (except front.) I have used the smaller versions; but, I see on their website that they do make a crate that holds up to 25 lbs.

http://www.natures-miracle.com/prod...crates-with-odor-control-charcoal-filter.aspx

I don't trust very many hard crates with large cats, because I have had too many either fall apart with the cat in it, or have the handle break while carrying.

But, with the type of latching this has, it holds together better, but still allows you to dismantle it fairly easily.

Click to expand...

I've had the same fears about the hard carriers, that it could break.  But the type that I see that can supposedly accommodate a 25 pound pet are also really big (I guess they expect dog) and hard to maneuver.  I guess I need to look at the soft ones and see if it would be feasible at all to be able to get the dude out of them.  Thanks for your input!

Misty8723 said:

 
Perhaps your cats have not been eager to use whatever means at their disposal to prevent you from pulling them out (teeth and claws).  My Swanie is normally a very gentle, loving kitty, but when he gets scared (like at the vet's) he will not hesitate to attempt to bite or scratch.

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You may be right! Luna has no problems, but Zoey who gets very scared gives me a bit of trouble She however is front declawed (not by me) and so i think that helps me because she doesn't have the front claws to get a grip.

It always helps that the bottom of the carriers come out, so I can slide her out on the padded bottom and there's nothing for her to grip on to besides that.

NYCats said:

 
I have two separate carriers for my two cats who are about the same size (9.5lbs). One is a small soft carrier with a shoulder strap, and the other is a hard plastic carrier that is a little bigger than the soft one. When I have to take them to their annual exams, I find it easier to have one strapped on my shoulder, so that I can carry the other one by hand and still have one hand free. They do not seem to mind the carriers being small, as they are scared and want to hide. The small one with the shoulder strap has zippers you can unzip to put your hand in to pet them, which seems to help them calm down. I can't do that with the hard one, but my girl is not as freaked out as my boy (boys are such wusses...jk jk )

Click to expand...

We have the exact same arrangement, for small cats, a soft Sherpa plus a two-door Petmate hard plastic carrier, and it works well for the same reasons you mentioned, NYCats. Our cats seem to like small carriers, too: when we took them in for microchips last week they ended up squishing into the Sherpa together after the more stressed-out cat jumped in with the other cat through the top opening!

CatMomma627 said:

 
You may be right! Luna has no problems, but Zoey who gets very scared gives me a bit of trouble She however is front declawed (not by me) and so i think that helps me because she doesn't have the front claws to get a grip.

It always helps that the bottom of the carriers come out, so I can slide her out on the padded bottom and there's nothing for her to grip on to besides that.

Click to expand...

The bottom comes out of the soft ones?

I was looking at the store, didn't see anything like that.

All soft carriers probably do not, but the two I'm familiar with both do....

This is the one my mom uses for her bug 20+ pound boys, it's from Walmart of all places, but great and sturdy for them. The bottom comes out so it can be washed, however if you cat was clawing into it, removing it would also be useful, This one does however just have an opening at one end.


The Oxgord carriers that I ordered two of off Amazon for my girls have a full opening at one end, a half at the other and an opening at the top to stick your hand in. The bottom slides right out of those too.

Hmmm. I guess I'll have to make a trip to Walmart.  Would never have thought to look there.