Carriers & Backpacks

Flying with your cat

Airlines do let small pets travel in the cabin, but almost all of them require a soft-sided bag that fits under the seat in front of you, and each airline publishes its own maximum dimensions plus a combined weight for pet and bag, often around 8 kg. A soft bag such as our flight-approved carrier bag matters because the sides give a little at the check-in gauge and under a tight seat, where a rigid box simply will not go. Read the rules on the airline's own site for the month you fly rather than a forum post, book your pet on at the same time as your seat, since cabin places are capped per flight, and have the health documents ready. Driving instead? The kit is different, and you will find it in dog car seats and travel.

Getting the size right

Measure before you buy, because a carrier that looks generous in a photo is often only generous for a kitten. Take the length from the nose to the base of the tail, and the height from the floor to the top of the shoulder while your cat is standing, then add about five centimetres to each. She should be able to stand without ducking her head, turn round, and lie flat. The number people get wrong is the weight limit: it describes what the base board and the seams will hold, not how much room there is inside, so a bag rated to 10 kg can still be far too short for a long, lean cat. If she falls between sizes, an expandable backpack unzips into extra floor space once you are sitting on the train, while a compact backpack carrier for cats and small dogs is easier to keep on your back for an hour.

Backpacks, slings or wheels

How far you are carrying decides the shape. For a short walk to the clinic, a sling bag holds a small pet against your body and leaves both hands free. For a full day out, weight on two shoulders is far kinder to your back than a single strap, and a double backpack spreads it across the chest as well. Once an airport, a station or a long pavement is involved, wheels win: a carrier that converts between backpack and trolley rolls through the terminal and goes on your back at the stairs. And if you are supporting an older or recovering dog rather than transporting one, a support sling harness is the right tool for that job.

Before the vet visit

The morning of the appointment is far too late. Bring the carrier out weeks ahead, take the door off or leave it wide open, and let it sit in the room your cat already likes with a familiar blanket inside. Feed her in it. Drop treats through the mesh when she walks past. The aim is that the carrier stops predicting a needle and starts predicting food, which usually takes two or three weeks of doing nothing dramatic at all. A soft carry bag that stays out as a bed all year does most of this on its own, and a top-opening design such as the PetPacker backpack lets you lower a reluctant cat in rather than push her through an end door. On the day, drape a towel over the bag, keep it level, and carry it against your body instead of swinging it.

Carriers that convert

Several of these do more than one job, which is the point of buying them. The Pawresa 2-in-1 carrier is a wheeled trolley case and a backpack in the same shell, so it rolls through a terminal and goes on your shoulders at the stairs. The Pendlo bike basket and carrier bag lifts off the handlebars and becomes a shoulder bag when you arrive, and a bike basket with a built-in safety harness stops a curious cat leaning out at a junction. If the journey starts by car, a raised seat from dog car seats and travel keeps a small dog contained on the back bench. And for dogs well beyond carrying weight, the same convert-as-you-go thinking runs through our bike trailers, several of which turn into a pram in seconds.

Petifo is a Swedish company and we ship across the EU with tracked delivery. Prices include VAT, with no extra customs fees on EU orders. If something is not right you can request a return within 30 days under our return policy, and our team is happy to help you choose before you buy.