Cat carrier recommendations please - top opening

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

We've got a Catit, which I love, but I gree, it can be the very devil sometimes trying to get the top open.  Thankfully both Tinks and Moray are easy enough to load via the front.  And we were lucky enough to be ble to find a brilliant padded base, which doesnt shift about because it's dead size.  It also absorbs the odd accident very well, and is easy to wash out afterwards - a quick spin in the washing mchine and it's sorted and sweet smelling, ready for next time. 

I think sometimes there's a great case for being able to look at and examine a cat carrier before committing to purchase, and often it's not until you have an adult cat in the carrier and are hefting it about yourself that you find out whether or not it works for you, as well as your cat.   

[Reets]

We use a top opening wire one, and find that the cats are calmer when they travel if we wrap the basket in towels - just leaving a little bit at the top for them to look out of.  This also helps if they wee or are sick.   We've only ever had one that has done that and that was Rosie towards the end of her life - she had kidney trouble and we think that was the cause of that!

[Mymblesdaughter]

That's a good idea Hollycat. Mine came with a tray that fits in the bottom but you could make a covering/mat for the bottom that fitted with Velcro.

[hollycat]

You could measure the internal dimensions and have a piece of quarter inch Perspex cut to fit. Then using self adhesive Velcro you can attach the pad/mat.
Easy to remove and clean 

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

Poor Chivvy had some very bad times at the vets and used to hate going. It was common for him to pee in the carrier and he had always scrabbled around when we were getting him in, so whatever I had used as lining was all over the place.The ability to clip something to the bottom of the interior would have been really useful!

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I think I will end up just going for a traditional wire top opening one.  I wish I could get a domed one that opens at the top but those ones seem to be front opening only.  Some also have handles that look uncomfortable.  Not that I carry it much as I use a trolley to wheel them out to the car and then staff at the other end carry them inside for me.

Not keen on fabric ones tbh.  I like something a bit more rigid and solid.  Plus I looked at some in a store and although they were plastic lined, there was exposed stitching inside.  If they weed in the carrier that would be a pain to clean properly. 

I use vetbed in the bottom of the carrier too but it tends not to stay in the bottom so of limited use should they pee on it!  I wish someone would make a carrier that had clips in the bottom to clip something like that so that it cant be moved.  Could still put a towel of something inside for them to hide under if wanted.  So far Mosi has never weed, done a poo or vomited in a carrier and Kito hasn't on his one trip (which was a fairly long one) but Jaffa tended to poo on longer trips, bless him, and the vet bed was sometimes a little wet when I got home from his frequent trips to the vet towards the end of his life.  So that's something I'm always thinking about - how easy would it be to clean when that happens.

[Mymblesdaughter]

I also have one of the soft carriers I got one that was really expensive from America years ago and still have it. It's great if your cat will easily go into a carrier. They are nice to carry. If you are fighting your cat to get them in, like I do. Trying to do up a zip while holding your cat inside is not easy. 

[sheilarose]

I can personally recommend these collapsible carriers which have both front and top openers, except I'm sure I paid less than half the price asked on this ebay sellers site!

Because they are "soft" I believe the cat feels less constrained and it is easier to store as it does fold completely flat.

Forgot the link

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trixie-Ryan-Bag-Pet-Carrier-Small-Dog-Cat-rabbit-nylon-with-shoulder-strap-/191572075808?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c9a95e520

[Frances]

I use the rigid wire open top carriers.  I got the first one for Woody, who was a big boy and needed something substantial to carry him and got a second one when I went to fetch Christopher and James from Paws Inn.  Eleanor has a black one I picked up from eBay. 

I use a plastic tray at the bottom of the carrier with a piece of vetbed on top, which copes with any pee/poo/vomit, both easily washable.  I haven’t washed the carriers that often but when I do I dunk them in the bath, give them a scrub with an old washing up sponge and leave to drip dry . 

You can buy, or make, covers for the carriers but in the past I’ve used an old tee shirt with the handle through one of the armholes.

[Jiskefet]

I very much advise the Ferplast Atlas carrier. I have several, one of which with a top lid, and it is very good.
If you happen to have a very big, heavy cat, who can push out the door with his mere bulk, or a houdini cat who can manipulate the lock, simply fasten a luggage strap across the carrier and Bob's your uncle.

[Mymblesdaughter]

I got a catit cabrio and sent it back as top was too difficult to close. Now have the tradition cage type carrier and found it really good. I put a blanket over it but am thinking of making a cover to fit.

[Purdy Bear]

We used a top loading picnic basket for years.  The Veterinary loved it as well, as he said she could see out but no one in.  It looked similar to this one, but ours had two buckles on the top:

http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/8002332/8002332/Picnic-Time-Piccadilly-Picnic-Basket-P15368129.jpg

[sheilarose]

I can personally recommend these collapsible carriers which have both front and top openers, except I'm sure I paid less than half the price asked on this ebay sellers site!

Because they are "soft" I believe the cat feels less constrained and it is easier to store as it does fold completely flat.

[hollycat]

Quick look on Amazon and found these 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Curver-carrier-transporter-Petlife-collection/dp/B00BF29Q7U/ref=sr_1_12/280-6421684-6493227?ie=UTF8&qid=1432401680&sr=8-12&keywords=cat+carriers

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nobby-Transport-Carrier-57-5-39-5/dp/B004QBFKZY/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1432401787&sr=8-30&keywords=cat+carriers

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panier-transport-Atlas-Vision-M/dp/B009VE9OEE/ref=sr_1_72?ie=UTF8&qid=1432401913&sr=8-72&keywords=cat+carriers

Argos

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1475335.htm


Loads here

http://www.dabners.co.uk/products/46/1/cat-carriers/

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Lets have another round of this game and see whether it throws up anything new    I am still searching for the purrfect carrier but it seems as far out of reach as ever.  I bought a Catit Cabrio recently and don't really like it.  It's ok and I will use it but I have 2 main problems with it - if I try to open the top everything seems to fall apart and it's a mammoth task putting it all back together - impossible to assemble around a cat!  Maybe I've just not got the knack of doing it or have put it together wrong but the top loading aspect is not really working for me.  The 2nd thing is the door - being clear plastic seems to encourage Mosi to push against it and I can see it move at the top.  I've no reason to think the catch won't hold but I do tie something on the outside as an extra precaution.   The door can be a pain to clean too.

I want something that can be top opening but I am always wary of those where the handle is attached to the top part and doesn't seem overly secure - I worry that the bottom will simply fall off when it's being carried if it's just held together with a few plastic clips.

I am seriously considering a traditional wire open top carrier.  I do feel they are very open though and would prefer something that is a little more enclosed, at least in part.  I also wonder how easy they are to clean, esp if pee, poop or vomit is involved (and I don't even want to think about a cat projectile vomiting from inside one of those when in the car!      ).  Given that many people want a top opening carrier, and that this type of thread appears on most cat forums on a regular basis, you'd think someone would have taken all of our concerns on board and come up with something that did it all!  But if they have I can't find it.

So, what do you use?  Do you like it?