A travel carrier should let your cat stand up and turn around with ease, but bigger isn’t always better for a cat. Measure your cat for the inside size IATA’s formula gives.
Carrier size, inside
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How to measure your cat
Measure with your cat standing, as IATA, the International Air Transport Association, describes it:
- Length: from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail.
- Floor to top of head: standing naturally, to the top of the head or the ear tips, whichever is higher.
- Width: across the shoulders or the widest point, whichever is greater.
- Floor to elbow: from the ground to the elbow joint.
Sherpa, a carrier maker, measures height to the top of the back instead. It says its carriers are meant for a pet to lie down in comfortably, with enough room to stand up and turn around.
Bigger isn’t always better
International Cat Care says a larger carrier isn’t necessarily better for a cat feeling safe and secure, as cats like to sit in a small space and are less likely to move around. It likes solid plastic carriers that clean easily, with quick-release clips, a secure door, slats for air and a top half that comes off so a vet can examine the cat in it.
Which kind of carrier
International Cat Care’s guide for cat carers says to avoid soft fabric carriers, which can collapse and are hard to keep clean, and backpack styles, which let the cat move around too much. It prefers a sturdy plastic carrier whose top half lifts off, so your cat can be examined while it stays in the bottom half, and says a carrier without a removable top or a top opening makes the vet’s job harder.
Have one carrier for each cat, it says, even for cats that get on well. When you carry it, hold it level with a hand underneath rather than by the handle alone, which can make your cat feel unsteady.
IATA’s formula gives inside sizes. If a carrier’s listed size is its outside, the room inside is smaller.
Carriers sold as airline approved
“Airline approved” is Sherpa’s own term, not an airline’s. Sherpa uses it for a carrier that ventilates well, doesn’t leak and safely encloses the pet, and adds that each airline has its own size limits.
The Sleepypod Air measures 16 to 22 in long, 10.5 in wide and 10.5 in tall outside. For a flight, check your airline’s own carrier limits before you buy.
For the carry-on and personal item sizes each airline allows, see What Size Bag.