Double cat carrier

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Has anyone purchased a cat carrier to fit two cats recently? Browsing online and they all say measure your cats but a) I haven't picked them up yet and b) they will be kittens!

Our last cat grew quite large so want it to be spacious but not cavernous!

I think I'd stick with two separate ones. Much easier to get reluctant cats into, without worrying about the other one escaping. And two in one Carter would be too heavy to carry!

Also I think they would actually get more stressed being in together which could lead to fights.

If they're kitties they'll prob fit into one - ours did. But they now need one each. They'd be far too heavy to have in one carrier even if we could find one large enough. One in each hand is balanced!

I spent ages searching for one and never found one to be honest

In the end I got a foldable medium dog one which had like tent poles you put in to make it sturdy at the corners and that fitted in 2 cats easily - only problem being it was really designed just for transporting in the car I think so didn't have a reinforced base and was quite difficult/heavy to carry in and out of the Vets

We have stuck with individual carriers since but the foldable fabric ones as we have a lot of cats!

If one pukes the other gets covered too. Don't go there.

Get two. Many reasons for this, but if nothing else, carrying one on each arm is far easier than lifting two by one arm! If you want, they'll both fit in one carrier as kittens and you can use the other once they're bigger.

I have large wicker top loading baskets.
They measure 1ft 8 x 1ft 1 x 1ft 2 deep.
They happily take two cats weighing about 10kg in total.
Loading the second cat can sometimes prove a challenge .

A quick web search produced this - not dissimilar to mine (which I've had for 30 odd years)
www.notonthehighstreet.com/prestigewicker/product/wicker-pet-carrier

I have this one:

www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_carriers_travel/plastic_cat_crates/large_crates/710027

It holds my two cats easily, but they have grown up together and don't fight. Both not small cats. It is quite heavy, mind, but very sturdy, easy to buckle in the car, easy to carry.

Hmm this is interesting- I asked their breeder and she said keep them in the same carrier even as adults (they are brothers). Totally get the comments about weight though - picking up my last boy on his own was hard enough.

Kittens will fit into a standard one when they are still kittens, but I agree with everyone else that in the long run having separate ones is much easier and safer for all the reasons that have been mentioned.

@ivfbeenbusy do you have a recommendation for a good fabric one for a single cat? We had the basic heavy plastic style for our last cat and it weighed a ton with him in it.

In terms of specific carriers, I only trust the metal wire, top opening ones now - MDC and MetalCote are the main manufacturers in the UK for them. They do also have the benefit of having visibility through the sides so if I'm taking two cats to the vets, I tend to keep the two carriers side by side and cover them both with a big towel. That way the cats can be close while being in separate carriers.

I agree 2 carriers is logistically much easier. Also you never quite know how they will get on when they are older - mine are 1.5 years now and starting to squabble even though they're siblings.

One of mine struggled wth the fabric ones, he would rub his face hard against the mesh windows in desperation to get out, and ended up with a bleeding nose. We now have bigger plastic / metal ones designed for long distance transportation (e.g.air) and he copes with it much better.

I bought one that fitted both when they were kittens and then bought a 2nd one as they are heavy to carry with one hand if 2 cats are in there.

I like the basic style MDC ones. How are they weight wise?

I just got kittens and bought the basic amazon one. I had looked in the pet shops and ummed and aaahhed over which to get. Honestly this is excellent- much sturdier than others I saw - there are bolts as well as clips holding it together. Both kittens came home in it. Although when I put them both in to go to the vets 2 weeks later it was obvious next time they go i will need another one.

Logistically keeping one cat in their while you get the other cat is also a challenge....I was worried how I would cope in the surgery getting them out etc but I wasn't allowed in due to covid so the vet did it.

As my cats were coming in the car I decided against a fabric one as I wasn't sure how it would perform in an accident.....I might be thinking too hard about it.....but baby seats are hard. Lol.

I have 2 of these

We got a large MDC one. As young adults, both fitted in easily - and Mr Cat was so laid back, he didnt try to escape as we added his more feisty sister. Unfortunately Mr Cat is no more, so feisty one will get a very spacious ride next time she goes anywhere.
Top loaders are MUCH easier to get cats into than front loading carriers

I got a large one when I had 2 kittens and they were happy to share.
Now they are bigger they have one each.

I’ve got this as it’s easy to carry on my back than struggle with a box. I don’t have a car so it needed to be something I could walk to the vets with. Havelock loves it. They come in bigger sizes too.

2 separate carriers. Even 2 quite small cats in one carrier is very heavy. And if one does a wee you have 2 cats covered in wee instead of one.

Also it's quite easy for the first cat to escape while you are putting the second cat in. This gets less funny over time/when you are running late for the vet.

We started off with one hard carrier when cats were kittens. But now even though they are siblings there is no way they would be happy in the same one. I bought a second fabric one for our girl cat. So when not used it is stored inside the bigger hard one.

Haha you've all convinced me! Will get one nice large one for the first few weeks of kitten trips and then get another for when they are adults.