Tips Cat carriers

Hey everyone,
 

I have three cats and three carriers. One is too small and therefore I use this one rarely, only when I have foster kittens over here.

The other is good, but the third one is broken.

I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good cat carrier which is also pleasant for the cat. It is not for travelling by plane etc, just only for vet visits.

Ideally I want a carrier which you can also open from above. Nowadays most carriers can only be opened on the front side. Which is a bit gawky sometimes, certainly for my cat Pim who is really really anxious when he needs to go to the vet.

I prefer plastic or sturdy fabric material and preferably one that can be opened from above.

Does anyone know what is important for a cat carrier anyway? Does anyone know this, possibly from scientific research? I know a carrier with plenty of holes can cause more stress for cats, but not enough holes in it can cause stress as well.

Anyways, I hope somebody have some advice and some carrier recommendations.

I have something like this:
Mine is not this brand, but similar. I like it because mine will unzip completely and fold flat for storage.

I'd definitely go with a sturdy plastic one that can be opened from the front and top. We've had a Marchioro Clipper for years that I absolutely love. The shelter I work at also has several with two openings, and they make life much easier when you're hauling cats to the vet's.
:
A couple of other brands are covered in the Reviews section:
Carriers and Crates.

if you have the money defiantly go for a sleepypod. 

I hate those plastic carrier because to take off the lid (sometimes kitty doesn't want to use the door) is so troublesome.

sleepypod also makes it more safe when traveling in the car . 

it doubles as a sleeping pod at home which + points 

its big enough to fit a big cat and two small one. 

do check it out

I have this Petmate double door hard carrier:


This one is an older mode which has been discountinued. Petmate has a newer model: http://www.petmate.com/2-door-kennel and other models of carriers http://www.petmate.com/category/petmate-products/for-cats-kittens/kennels-carriers-for-cats-kittens

Anne3007 said:

Does anyone know what is important for a cat carrier anyway? Does anyone know this, possibly from scientific research? I know a carrier with plenty of holes can cause more stress for cats, but not enough holes in it can cause stress as well.

Click to expand...

Escape-proof and pet-rpoof are a must. Look for sturdy locking mechanisms, sturdy door that locks securely, no small openings where a cat can stick a paw through and be injured, etc. Hard plastic carriers are best if you travel by car while soft sided ones are more suited for under-the-seat airplane travel. The type of carrier to use also depends somewhat on the pet. My Aby has ripped his way through a soft sided carrier (on his very first trip inside of it too ) so now I only use a hard plastic carrier for him. My other cat gets a cushy new soft sided carrier that has wheels.

Not enough holes results in poor ventilation. A cat would have a very hard time breathing which causes stress and possible illness. Any carrier you can buy these days have plenty of ventilation holes so there's really no worry.

You can place a towel in the bottom of the carreir to make it cushier. You could also buy pads / mats from the pet store. If your cat tends to have accidents in the carrier, line in the inside with a puppy training pad.

Thanks for all your advice.

I heard from sleepypod and I think they are good, but they are too expensive for me. I do however spend most of my money on my cats but i'd rather spend the money on high quality food and scratching trees and stuff. Since they use these things every day, and fortunately , we do not have to go the vet every day. Which doesn't mean I don't want to spend some money on a good carrier..
I think I found some good carriers now though and thank you for telling me what is important and which ones are good.

Petmate seems a good brand, but I can't find petmate carriers over here Online...I live in the Netherlands..I have Petmates products but so far I haven't found a good petmate carrier in an online store. Perhaps in the pet stores, I will take a look at that.

I like the petmate double door on the picture . I can only find it on Amazon and websites from the US which means high shipping costs..And I don't know what amazon is exactly. 
Anyways, I will keep searching and I am sure I will find a good one And thanks to you all !

I'm currently using a dog it carrier. It's good stuff but like I said. It's Irritating for me when she doesn't want to use the stupid door

Originally Posted by Anne3007  

..And I don't know what amazon is exactly. 

Click to expand...

Amazon.com (that's the link to the US site) is a huge online shopping web site There actually is a Netherlands web site for Amazon: http://www.amazon.nl/ The Netherlands web site is in Dutch (?) so unless you understand Dutch or use Google Translate, it might be hard to find what you are looking for.

How about zooplus ?They have the Clipper and Capri that are like the Petmate. Shipping is free for orders of €20 or more.

Thanks for letting me know
Didn't know about the Dutch version of Amazon. 

I regularly order things at Zooplus and I was looking at these two carriers you said @jcat  
I just find it confusing that somebody says that the carrier is not firm (the clipper one). It would fall into two parts if you hold it by its handle, with a cat that weighs below the maximum weight the carrier should be able to carry. I usually do not only hold it by only its handle but also put one hand on the bottom of the carrier. But that is not always possible.

But maybe I shouldn't read all the reviews every time.. Most are positive
 

We"ve got the Clipper II, have never had that problem, and both our current cat and our last one weigh(ed) 6 kg.

Mind is kinda like this. It's purple and cost me $20 from a second hand store.

LTS3 said:

I have this Petmate double door hard carrier:

51ZFAsafu9L._SY300_.jpg

• LTS3
• Jul 26, 2015

This one is an older mode which has been discountinued. Petmate has a newer model: http://www.petmate.com/2-door-kennel and other models of carriers http://www.petmate.com/category/petmate-products/for-cats-kittens/kennels-carriers-for-cats-kittens





Escape-proof and pet-rpoof are a must. Look for sturdy locking mechanisms, sturdy door that locks securely, no small openings where a cat can stick a paw through and be injured, etc. Hard plastic carriers are best if you travel by car while soft sided ones are more suited for under-the-seat airplane travel. The type of carrier to use also depends somewhat on the pet. My Aby has ripped his way through a soft sided carrier (on his very first trip inside of it too :doh3: ) so now I only use a hard plastic carrier for him. My other cat gets a cushy new soft sided carrier that has wheels.

Not enough holes results in poor ventilation. A cat would have a very hard time breathing which causes stress and possible illness. Any carrier you can buy these days have plenty of ventilation holes so there's really no worry.

You can place a towel in the bottom of the carreir to make it cushier. You could also buy pads / mats from the pet store. If your cat tends to have accidents in the carrier, line in the inside with a puppy training pad.

Click to expand...

I have this one: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16118

It's a little pricey, but I think it was worth it. It's roomy and two cats can share it if necessary. Every vet, tech, and groomer says it looks like a spaceship. It's very sturdy plastic and has lots of small vent holes instead of a few larger ones. The top door side fold completely open, so it's really easy to get my stubborn scared-y cat out.

I think it was designed for airplane travel, but I haven't used it for that. It comes with removable food and water dishes that clip into the front, so you can feed them without letting them out if you need to. I travel by car, so I just buckle the seatbelt through the top handle of the carrier. It was a little hard to initially put together, but that's the only problem I've had with it.

lemondrop said:

 
I have this one: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16118

It's a little pricey, but I think it was worth it. It's roomy and two cats can share it if necessary. Every vet, tech, and groomer says it looks like a spaceship. It's very sturdy plastic and has lots of small vent holes instead of a few larger ones. The top door side fold completely open, so it's really easy to get my stubborn scared-y cat out.

I think it was designed for airplane travel, but I haven't used it for that. It comes with removable food and water dishes that clip into the front, so you can feed them without letting them out if you need to. I travel by car, so I just buckle the seatbelt through the top handle of the carrier. It was a little hard to initially put together, but that's the only problem I've had with it.

Click to expand...

I have one of those too.  I wouldn't use it for airline travel but it seems fine for trips to the vet.  We carried our two small cats in it before but we're not planning to do it that way again.  It's just a little too cramped for them even though they are both small.  In a pinch it would be okay but for example last time they were in together one of them peed and I don't know which one!

This Amazon link is the same carrier for a few dollars less:  
This carrier comes packed in a flat box and snaps together.  It takes some significant effort to do that, and if not done fully it would just fall apart.  I believe that the negative reviews about it being flimsy come mainly from not putting it together well.  When closed it does not feel flimsy to me at all; it's very sturdy.  However, the way that the top opens, it makes it flimsy when it is open, and it can be a little tricky aligning it to close.  What I've found with small cats is that the huge front door opening is big enough to drop them in and I don't have to open the top except maybe to get them out at the vet.  I liked this over some of the other top door carriers where the handle is mounted to the door.  I don't trust a door latch to be strong enough to hold when I'm carrying it by the handle, but with this carrier that is not a problem.

I actually bought one of these recently though.  Have yet to put one of my cats in it but I found the idea interesting:  http://cat-in-the-bag.com/

Amazon.nl seems to only have Kindle e-books. Amazon.de has a couple of two-door cat carriers, like the Europet Bernina (two sizes) Nobby, Trixie or Ferplast. Some of them are also available at amazon.co.uk

Yeah, I think the Clipper is sturdy. Some people always have to say something bad about a product and it doesn't always have to say anything.

Amazon.nl is a weird website I got these strange results and no pet things whatsoever. Germany has a lot of stuff but unfortunately the shipping costs are usually a bit high. Not always though.. But there is also this problem that they do not always ship to the Netherlands.
Anyways, I think I finally found one. I like the Europet carriers. I saw them in a store this afternoon and they looked sturdy to me. And the price is good.

So I guess I'd finally made my decision, and otherwise I'd order the Clipper, it seems good to me and available in the Netherlands

I also thought about the Pet Cargo Cabrio Carrier,  but again - these reviews made me confused. Some people say it is such an incredible product while others say that it is the worst thing ever. So confusing.. I know I shouldn't read the reviews no longer because it only confuses me but still - I make a big deal out of it

http://www.zooplus.nl  have a few carriers at decent prices. I use the uk site all the time, and they're very easy to deal with. I don't like the look of the Cabrio at all. It looks over engineered to me - and I find that the more parts something has, the more likely it is to break! There are a couple that look similar to the Petmate one posted above though. I've seen the Clipper one 'in the flesh'. I really liked it. The only reason I didn't get it was I needed it urgently and the shop didn't have the size I wanted in stock. I've not come across the Europet ones.

Europet seems to be a quality brand. We've had two of their litter boxes for years.

I ordered a carrier from Europet! Finally.. !! I found a website in the Netherlands who have several Europet carriers in stock.
Europet seems to be a good brand and I saw the Europet carrier in a store (another model though) and it seemed good to me. I now ordered one which can also be opened from above. 

Thanks for your help!! Really appreciate it ! if  I ever need a new one again I might order the Clipper as well