Large Pet Travel Carrier For Cats Or Small Dogs

I was a bit apprehensive whenever I thought about the prospect of traveling with Beatrice and Agatha for 8-9 hours in a car. We were supposed to leave on Friday for our trip to Georgia, but I didn’t sleep well the night before, and I awoke super tired. Plus, the wind was insane that day, and the idea of fighting that wind for hours convinced me to wait a day.

On Saturday, I placed the kitties in the travel carrier I’ve been using for vet visits. They have grown a lot since the last time I used it, so though it held both, it didn’t allow any extra room to move around. (Carrier is available here: Cat Carrier.)

Once we got through the city of Cincinnati, I decided to see what the kitties would do out of the carrier. I had a litter box available so they could go whenever they wished. Once I arrived home in Georgia, I was amazed to see how many times they had used it. I never heard or smelled anything, but it appeared that between the two of them, they had used it at least 4-5 times. Throughout the trip, I stopped every 1-1/2 to 2 hours to offer them water and food. They drank a fair amount but didn’t eat that much on the trip down. I wasn’t surprised since they had eaten a good breakfast before we left.

I had all the seats lying down in my SUV, so I was able to have three cat beds available for them: 2 regular size and a single large bed that easily holds both. All the beds got used during the trip; I could see them in the review mirror, snoozing away. This is the larger bed below, but of course, the kittens are much bigger now. This period went by so quickly, it’s hard to remember when they were this small!

One big surprise was how few 18-wheelers I saw during the drive down. In the past, I’ve avoided traveling on weekends, thinking the roads would be super busy. Traffic was quite light that Saturday, even in the large city areas, and I barely saw any large trucks during the drive. I may start making Saturday my travel day when driving between Georgia and Ohio.

All in all, the kitties did exceptionally well. No one ever threw up or went to the bathroom anyplace other than in the litter box. The only issue I encountered was occasionally one of them would attempt to walk across the center console to the front seat area. Beatrice, very much a lap cat, tried to come up front a few times, but after I blocked her a few times, she understood the assignment.

As great as they were on the trip down, I decided before I head back north to look for some type of carrier that would give them room to move around, but would also keep them safe and limited on how far they could go inside the car. A few days ago, I purchased this carrier, and it arrived yesterday. It was very easy to put together, only took me about 15-20 minutes, if that long. It has a lot of features that I really like, including the ability to separate it into two individual carriers when needed. (Carrier is available in two sizes here: Large Cat and Dog Car Carrier, Great for Travel.)

Here’s how it looked put together. The cats aren’t allowed on any of the dining tables, but I let Beatrice stay there when she jumped up so I could share how the carrier looks size-wise with a kitty inside. When I ordered this carrier, I ordered the larger of the two sizes. Once I put it together, I was surprised by how big it actually is, but I am glad I ordered the larger size since their kitty beds fit so well inside.

There are mesh flaps that can be zipped closed or unzipped and rolled up. In the image below, I have both mesh “windows” rolled up and secured.

There are also two mesh window flaps (not visible below) that can be zipped up to separate the two compartments, if needed. I like it open as shown below so the kitties can walk back and forth inside the carrier.

I thought about just placing one of the regular-size beds on one side and placing the litter box that came with the carrier on the other side. As you can see, the kitties don’t mind sleeping together in a big kitty puddle.

Here’s how it looks with a bed on one side and the little box container (that came with the carrier) on the other side. I found a pan at Walmart that appears to be the right size to go inside the litter box container here: Metal Pan. I’m not sure if I will use the carrier in this configuration on the way back. I kinda like the idea of each kitty having her own bed.

Beatrice is showing how she fits without a kitty bed inside. 😉

The two carriers are each designed with a pocket on the side. It also came with two collapsible-style food/water bowls. I tucked one inside a pocket on each side.

Here’s how the carrier looks inside my car. I’m tempted to order it in the slightly smaller size, and instead of placing their round kitty beds inside, use soft mats like the ones seen here: Warming Beds/Soft Beds. Athough, the kitties may feel more secure tucked inside their own beds since they have higher sides.

Another view from the front…

My SUV is mid-size, and there’s a little bit of room left on either side with the carrier in place.

It was especially important to me that the carrier I purchased was designed where it could be seat-belted into place. Each of the carriers has two straps through which the seatbelt fits. When the carriers are connected as I have them, there are a total of four straps through which the seat belts will easily fit.

Here’s a view with the mesh window flap on the left lowered and zipped closed. That’s great to keep pets from wandering around inside the car.

The cats are almost 7 months old, so the good thing about buying larger carriers is that they shouldn’t outgrow them. When I next head back north, I’ll let you know how this system worked. I read in the reviews that some people even use these carriers (probably separated into two carriers) to take their cats or small dogs to the vet. I may do that since I love how easily and securely they can be seat-belted in place inside the car. (This carrier is available in two sizes here: Cat & Small Dog Carriers.)