Last week my new SturdiBag cat carrier arrived. Today, I unfortunately had call to use it...Kato came down with cat flu, so off we went to the vet.
Which means I got to actually road test this difficult-to-buy cat carrier. It was expensive! More so because the actual makers of the bag wanted postage of over $70 and it is not available in Australia. The best postage I could find was $56, so I purchased through the pet travel store, making it cost a whopping US$142.35. But, with all my research, this was the bag that I wanted.
Unlike other soft travel bags, the SturdiBag had good reviews in some key areas:
-zippers have a closing device so clever cats can't open them
-a decent amount of mesh for ventilation
-no-one mentioned the mesh had ever been chewed/scratched through (competitor bags all had this problem)
-the shoulder strap was wide and padded, and the handles also kind to human hands
-the shoulder strap fixed to the bag at 4 points, meaning stability for a carried cat
-one top mesh panel has another zip that lets you put your hand in to pet your cat - a really good feature for anxious cats and cat parents alike, as I found today! (Note: cat can also get out of it).
-privacy flaps that velcro down, or roll up and velcro open, depending on how shy your cat is (or the weather)
-construction was sturdy and LIGHT
A small top opening for petting Which means I got to actually road test this difficult-to-buy cat carrier. It was expensive! More so because the actual makers of the bag wanted postage of over $70 and it is not available in Australia. The best postage I could find was $56, so I purchased through the pet travel store, making it cost a whopping US$142.35. But, with all my research, this was the bag that I wanted.
Unlike other soft travel bags, the SturdiBag had good reviews in some key areas:
-zippers have a closing device so clever cats can't open them
-a decent amount of mesh for ventilation
-no-one mentioned the mesh had ever been chewed/scratched through (competitor bags all had this problem)
-the shoulder strap was wide and padded, and the handles also kind to human hands
-the shoulder strap fixed to the bag at 4 points, meaning stability for a carried cat
-one top mesh panel has another zip that lets you put your hand in to pet your cat - a really good feature for anxious cats and cat parents alike, as I found today! (Note: cat can also get out of it).
-privacy flaps that velcro down, or roll up and velcro open, depending on how shy your cat is (or the weather)
-construction was sturdy and LIGHT
Here in Australia, we don't really care about the compressability of the top of the bag - we can't have cats as carry on airline baggage that has to fit under the chair in front of you. Instead, we are required to have a specific airline approved hard crate, buy a berth on the plane for our cat/s, and the cat travels in the special pet cargo. Our house is well equipped with hard travel crates; we already have two - one for Kato when he was a kitten, then because he grew so long, a bigger one for his adult travels. Hard crates are fine, but rather unwieldy, hence my desire to branch out and try a soft bag for non-air travel. Plus, with two cats, I really don't think I could carry two hard crates - I wanted something to sling over my shoulder, leaving my hands free for just one hard crate.
The good news is that the SturdiBag really is LIGHT! It is also sturdy and stable and easy to carry. I like it. Kato also likes it, and Ava played around in it because Kato was there. I actually left the bag open under our bed, and Kato just thought I'd made another great sleeping place. This is because there is also a lovely plush pillow as part of the base of the bag.
The PROBLEM with this, as I found today, was that the pillow is something for a cat to grip...think vet trying to get scared cat out of bag. But, I figure for vet trips, I can always take out the pillow, and pop in a folded towel. That way we can just slide out the towel, cat on top (the pillow is velcroed in). For a cat who doesn't mind the vet, there probably won't be a problem.
So, thus far, I'm quite in like with my SturdiBag (as are the cats).
The good news is that the SturdiBag really is LIGHT! It is also sturdy and stable and easy to carry. I like it. Kato also likes it, and Ava played around in it because Kato was there. I actually left the bag open under our bed, and Kato just thought I'd made another great sleeping place. This is because there is also a lovely plush pillow as part of the base of the bag.
The PROBLEM with this, as I found today, was that the pillow is something for a cat to grip...think vet trying to get scared cat out of bag. But, I figure for vet trips, I can always take out the pillow, and pop in a folded towel. That way we can just slide out the towel, cat on top (the pillow is velcroed in). For a cat who doesn't mind the vet, there probably won't be a problem.
So, thus far, I'm quite in like with my SturdiBag (as are the cats).