I need advice on buying a new cat carrier.

[wnylib]

Two of the pegs that secure the top of Ember's hard plastic carrier to the bottom have broken.

I want a soft carrier this time, preferably one with wheels so that I can take her outdoors in it sometimes. I'm looking for one versatile enough to remove the wheels so that I can put it in a car when necessary. A bonus would be one that is TSA compliant in case I want to take her on a plane, although I have no plans to do that.

Ember only weighs 9 pounds, but she is high at the shoulders and long so she does not fit into carriers for small cats. I can't get accurate measurements of her because, whether I use a pliable measuring tape or a hard measuring stick, she plays with them too much. So I measured her current hard plastic carrier because she fits into it comfortably. It is 18" long, 12" high, and 12" wide.

I looked at Amazon and saw some that are close enough to the measurements to work, but customer reviews vary. I checked Petsmart, but their wheeled cat carrier got such a negative review that I'm wary of it. Don't know if that poster was sincere or a troll.

Can anybody here recommend a good quality, versatile wheeled cat carrier by brand name?

[marybourg]

1. My cat sat in his hard-sided carrier like a perfect gentleman.

He demolished and escaped from his new soft-sided carrier within 30 seconds.

[wnylib]

3. Some of the soft carriers have zipper locks to prevent

clever cats from opening them. A strong material should prevent a cat from clawing or chewing its way out of the carrier.

[marybourg]

6. It doesn't matter that there's a lock at the end of the zipper.

That’s human think. The cat just pulls the teeth of the zipper apart at the middle. That’s cat think. 🐱

[wnylib]

7. Oh. Cats are clever.

[58Sunliner]

2. My cat destroyed the soft carrier. Also kept getting his claws caught in material. It was a hazard.

[wnylib]

4. Well, yours is the second negative post about soft carriers.

So disappointing. I was hoping to find a good one.

[TommyT139]

5. We swear by ours

Our cats have never tried to claw their way out of soft carriers. Not that they were thrilled, but it's way better than the hard carriers. He (just the one, now) can barely stand up in it. He's sitting or lying all the time anyway, except when stress-excreting (all three ways, like clockwork). Because the soft carrier has both top and end zipper openings, I am able to reach in and remove one of the layers of absorbent pads I put in before the trip. Awkward, yes, but he settles down quickly.

I've looked into cat strollers. For him, going to the vet is so stressful that I'd want to have a different stroller so he won't think he's going to the vet all the time. Also, the visibility in those is much better than in a regular soft carrier.

[wnylib]

8. Thanks for the input.

I'm going to call the vet for an opinion on the safety of the soft carriers and strollers.

[hermetic]

9. Check out Chewy.com

They have MANY to choose from. https://www.chewy.com/b/carriers-travel-454

[wnylib]

10. Thanks.

[flashman13]

11. You could try Travel Cat. Their cat packs are pretty good, but a little pricey.

[Deep State Witch]

12. If You Get A Traditional Carrier

Make sure that it has a door on the top. It is MUCH easier to get kitty into a carrier that way than shoving them into the side.

That being said, our kitties ride in style with these carriers.

https://www.chewy.com/pet-life-wheeled-travel-dog-carrier/dp/271632

[spinbaby]

13. I have transported a lot of cats in my time

I used to regularly drive a carload of cats 30 miles to get fixed. We always asked for clean, hard-sided carriers, but often got the soft ones, which is how I sometimes found myself driving along with a loose cat in the car.