Soft vs. Hard Sided Traveling Case

RC has experimented with portable lodgings since he was a kitten. He now uses a modified Sherpa bag, but he's tried out a variety over the years.

At first, he used an oversized beach bag with a firm plastic floor. This solution worked when he was young and he only went from the car to the vets or hotel room. But, he had to leave the beach bag behind when he added too many pounds and learned how to jump out faster than I could catch him.

Next, RC tried out a molded plastic hard case approved by most airlines. We feel this has several disadvantages.

• First, airlines and bus companies are eager to insist that your pet travel in the cargo hold because he's in a case approved for cargo. Although RC would be miserable traveling as if he was baggage, the public transport companies figure he's unlikely to disturb their other passengers if he's out of sight and hearing range. Suddenly a case that was approved for in-cabin transport is only acceptable as cargo.
• Also, the hard case means that as we walked from place to place, we carried it as if it was oversized luggage ... there was no way to sling it over your shoulder. RC was more anxious because he couldn't easily detect that we were nearby.
• And, my last discomfort with hard cases is that they are heavy. Unless your pet is comfortable traveling on attached rollers ... a noisy and upsetting prospect for our baby ... a hard case adds pounds as you travel down the concourses.

RC switched back to a soft-sided case when we learned that the airline refused to allow him in the cabin with us in his hard sided case. We were in a third world country where commercial traveling cases for pets are hard to come by, so we had to make a soft-sided case. Personally, I wouldn't recommend this, but it was preferable to having RC travel in the cargo hold. We used it for over a year with great success and no regrets that we abandoned his hard molded case.

Modified Deluxe Sherpa Bag

Today, RC uses a medium sized deluxe Sherpa bag (outside measurements: 18" long x 11" wide x 10" high). RC measures 16" from his shoulder to his rump so he can comfortably lie down in it. The carrier's not tall enough for him to stand his full height, but that doesn't worry us because cats rarely just stand -- they either are in motion or they are reclining. He can easily turn around in the case.

RC weighs between 5.5 and 6 kilos (~12-13 lbs). His weight wasn't as important a consideration as his length was when selecting the carrier's size.

I added cloth window coverings that attach inside with Velcro so they're easy to remove. The bag looks like a regular suitcase when the window coverings are attached.

We considered buying a soft-sided case that had roll down windows, but the coverings were made of a heavy material that made us concerned about adequate air when closed. Plus, the built-in coverings were attached to the outside so RC couldn't decide whether he wanted to "people watch" or maintain his privacy.

Of course, we also added liners to handle any unexpected accidents. We use the faux lamb skin that comes with the Sherpa bag as a blanket for RC when we're outdoors in really cold weather.

We suspect RC will use the Sherpa bag for years to come. It's easy to encourage him inside through the side "door" and he loves hopping out through the top hatch.