Best Travel Carrier for Cats

[subconsciousme]

So, I got into graduate school. I will either be moving to Chicago, Seattle or Buffalo, NY from Phoenix, AZ.

We have two cats (Lola is about 6 pounds and Maddie is about 9) that will obviously be coming with us. Right now, we have two hard carriers for the trip, but I'm not feeling too confident about them. There is no way to buckle them into the seat with these carriers which has me concerned for safety reasons.

Does anyone know a way to DIY buckles to these carriers?

Lola can be a real pistol--not in the car--but when we get out and I am concerned about the gate openings on the hard carrier and her possibly swiping at strangers. I don't think it would happen, but I just have to head caution. We will probably put a towel over the front of the carrier if we keep these to keep the exposure down when we have to take her out of the car (like on the way inside to a hotel room).

Anyway, what I am getting at is that we prefer to just DIY a way to buckle the hard ones in. However, if this is not possible... does anyone know a different cost effective option?

 

[GoldyCat]

Could you post a picture of the carriers? I would help to see where tie-downs can be attached.

 

[missymotus]

I just run the seat belt through the handle on top

Where will the cat be that she can be swiping at strangers??

I use PP20's and there's no way an adult cat can reach through the door

View media item 141804

 

[subconsciousme]

She could swipe at strangers through the holes of the front gate (but we will use a small hand towel cloth pinned to cover it while we are in transit to a room out of the car... so that isn't so much a concern.

I've attached a picture of our carriers to get a general idea (taken from the closet where they are in storage when not in use). We are more comfortable with hard carriers and really don't have the money to invest in large soft carriers, so any ideas on how to get these safety belted in would help. I've tried seat belting them through the handle and it doesn't work in our car for whatever reason.

photo.JPG

• subconsciousme
• Dec 17, 2012

 

[nekochan]

Here are some straps for that, you can maybe rig up something similar to this:
http://www.petautosafety.com/kennel-straps-restraints

I usually use soft carriers but with hard plastic ones I also put the seatbelt through the handle. Maybe cargo ties or bungee cords would work?

 

[flafred]

 good luck!