A cat carrier is essential for any journey in your car.

If there’s one thing that irritates vets more than a badly-designed cat carrier, it’s a cat that is brought to the surgery with no carrier at all, perhaps wrapped in a blanket, or just struggling in the owner’s arms!

And from time to time a cat will escape and run off outside the clinic, which is extremely distressing. Over the years, for me, finding the perfect cat carrier has been a bit like searching for the Holy Grail.

It seems straightforward but there are many very poorly-designed carriers around, and very few combine all the most desirable characteristics.

Size matters

Most people buy a carrier when their cat is a kitten, but often forget that he will become considerably larger. I have seen large tom cats squeezed into a box barely large enough for it to fit, let alone move around. And if it is to be used to carry two cats, it will have to be larger still.I would recommend about 34cms wide, 38cms tall, and 48cms deep (13.5 x 15 x 19in) as a good size.

Material
Traditional wicker cat carriers can be insecure and almost impossible to clean effectively. This is important, since they are often used to transport sick cats to the vet, and even more important if they are to be loaned out on occasion.

Cardboard carriers can be risky as a strong cat will be able to break out of one, especially once the cardboard has been softened with the help of cat urine!

Plastic-coated wire is fine,particularly for the cat that does not like the sensation of being confined, although some very aggressive cats will strike out through the gaps in the wire, and they will leak if the cat micturates.

In my opinion, rigid, heavyduty polypropylene plastic is the most suitable, as it is durable and easy to keep clean. Obviously, it needs plenty of ventilation holes.

Make sure the carrier is safely secured

Door
This needs to be secure, yet easy to open when the need arises. It must be strong, because in my experience, the door is often the part of the carrier that breaks. Stainless steel is probably the ideal material.

Handle
This needs to be easy to grasp, and in a position so that the hand that is holding it cannot be scratched. Even more importantly, the handle should not be attached to a part of the lid that might pull the lid open, if it is not properly closed.

Grille and vetbed
Useful extras, rather than essentials. A vetbed is designed to allow any urine to run straight through it, so if it is laid upon a grille, with newspaper underneath the grille, any urine will run through the bedding and be absorbed onto the paper, keeping the cat dry.

Opening clips
Surprisingly important, as many cats will not come out of their carriers voluntarily, and it is much easier (and often less painful!) to be able to rapidly dismantle the carrier by removing the upper half. There are some carriers where this process is relatively simple, but re-assembling it requires two hours and a degree in industrial engineering. Secure clips with a quick-release mechanism can very simply be used to hold
the two halves of a polypropylene carrier together.
 

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