The number of pet carriers on the market is dizzying. When we started researching carriers, we quickly became overwhelmed and dismayed. How would we ever figure out which carrier was well-constructed, comfortable, and properly sized without seeing it in person?
Finally we realized we needed to just pick one and order it so we could try it out. We agonized over reviews, prices, materials, and airline compatibility, and decided to try a few carriers from Mr. Peanut’s.
Since there are two humans and eight felines on this adventure, we needed to maximize the number of cats each person could carry. Also, since we originally thought we’d be driving 9 hours to meet the charter flight, we liked the idea of getting carriers that had pop-out sides to give the kitties a little more room to move around. This also seemed like a good option if we wanted to combine two cats in one carrier.
So, we started by ordering three styles: the Gold Series, which is a basic soft carrier; the Gold Series Expandable, which has a pop-out to one side; and the Vancouver Series Backpack carrier, so that we can strap one of the smaller cats to our back. 😹
Our first indication that we made a good choice was when all three carriers shipped from Mr. Peanut’s almost immediately – and we ordered them three days after Thanksgiving!
When they arrived shortly thereafter, we were surprised and delighted to discover that two of the carriers not only fold down into a tiny footprint, but they even come in their own nylon storage bag!
The next thing that impressed us was the quality of the construction and materials. Everything seems very durable, and the design is thoughtful with great attention to detail. We’d only ever used hard plastic carriers in the past and were skeptical of how well a soft carrier would endure long travels with fussy felines. These carriers were much more sturdy than we expected.
Ultimately, though, it all comes down to the kitties. What would they think of these carriers? Would they freak out and hide like they do the second they hear (let alone see) their old carriers come out?
Turns out, they love them as much as we do! As soon as we set the carriers out for the kitties to investigate, each cat wanted to explore inside, outside, and even on top of the carrier.
Cleopatches especially loves the backpack carrier and has spent many hours napping inside and playing all around it. That works out well, since we bought it especially for her!
It’s one thing to be excited about a new item in the house to play with (as in, every delivery box ever), but the true test of an item’s popularity is how it does on the actual job. Fortunately, we were recently able to put the carriers to the test when taking several cats in for their wellness exams.
The drive to the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center is about 40 minutes from where we live. Our cats leave the house only a couple times a year, unless they have a health issue. Heck, they rarely see any other humans besides us! So the cats we have who tend to be a bit anxious already don’t really enjoy the ride.
One of those cats is Valentino. He’s our oldest cat at 15 years old, and he showed up on the farm one winter after presumably being dumped nearby. He was living on bird food and was very worried that we would mistreat him.
Before long, he realized he had found a happy home, but he has always had a nervous edge. Having to have an eye removed four years ago probably hasn’t helped!
Anyhow, Val was due for his checkup last month. We decided to try him in the carrier with the pop-out side. On the way to the vet, we had the pop-out zipped up so that the carrier was a normal carrier configuration. Val did okay, but wasn’t thrilled. On the way home, however, we opened up the pop-out and it seemed to make all the difference! He seemed to enjoy the extra space and the ability to look around more.
So, when the time came to take our little fussy princess Pearl in for her wellness exam, we tried the pop-out again. Pearl is another pet who was dumped nearby so understandably doesn’t enjoy car rides.
She loved the carrier! Having that extra space really seemed to help her feel less constricted, and she did better than she ever has in the car.
We felt really good about our carrier choices, but one question remained: could we put two cats together comfortably in one carrier?
The cats themselves answered that question! One day we discovered two of our cats curled up together in the carrier that has a pop-out on both sides (the Mr. Peanut’s Platinum Series Double Expandable carrier). We had ordered it after being so impressed with the three we’d already gotten.
In fact, they were comfortably snuggled into the middle of the carrier and one pop-out, leaving the other side empty with plenty of room to move around, or to put a dish for food and water.
So, needless to say, we are thrilled with these carriers and will be ordering more for our journey. Each one even comes with a free travel bowl! They offer a variety of other pet travel accessories, too. Best of all, they have a Pay a Shelter Pet Forward program that helps funds animal welfare organizations.
Just a note in closing to say we don’t get a kickback for anything we say on this site. These are just our experiences and opinions and no one is paying us to say nice things! 😺
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