Living Car Free - Cats on a bike?

I have been officially car-free for only a few months, but, in my mind, car-free for much longer than that (drove the car only from one parking spot to another so it didn't sit too long). The only obstacle I have come across is how to take my cats to the vet. I ride an old road bike and only have a quick-release rack for the back. I've googled bike pet-carriers and have yet to find anything worthwhile. What do you do? I took one of my cats on the bus, but would prefer not to do it again if I can avoid it. Any ideas?

Get one of those handy dandy pet carriers (http://www.petco.com/product/11074/Petmate-Classic-Kennels.aspx) (small version) and strap it to the back rack? Our cat didn't mind riding in hers. Never took her on the bike...the vet was over 30 miles away:o I know of one lady whose cat rode in a front wicker basket. IIRC she kept a short leash on it, but the cat didn't seem to mind. The lady (and her cat) were quite the fixture in our area at the time I lived there.

Aaron:)

I actually see a guy in my neighborhood from time to time with a cat on a lease perched on the top of his backpack. I just cannot envision mine being okay with that. :) I was thinking it would be nice to have a sort of cat-backpack. That way I wouldn't be paranoid about the cage falling off, or my cat getting beat up going over bumps. Does such a thing even exist?
Too bad I don't have a front basket or a cat who would sit in one!

You might do better with a front rack that you can bungee a Pet Taxi to, that way you can keep an eye on them to make sure they're not freaking out too badly.

Any ideas?

Try it bareback!

Hmmm, think he has leg issues with that pedaling style?

Not sure if it's such a good idea unless you've got a really laid back cat.Could
freak it out pretty bad.If you gotta,you should train them to do this.Then he/she can at least help pedalling.:)
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s148/thebikeguyCCM/willythestoker.jpg

So, I take duct tape is out?

I think your best solution would be a trailer and a pet box. Otherwise you may find yourself wearing a jersey made of sharpened cats.

Alright then. Duct tape. Although I do love my cats, I also love the mental image that comes to mind thinking of my cats duct taped to my body. :rolleyes:
Perhaps a trailer is not a bad investment for such an ordeal.
Thanks.

Over a couple of weeks ago I moved about four miles away. After I managed to finally "capture" our cat I managed to get her into the transport cage and rode my bike while holding the cage. She absolutely hated it and meowed the whole time. When I got home I let her out (she is an outside cat) and she ran away. I haven't seen her since and it's been over two weeks.:(

Alright then. Duct tape. Although I do love my cats, I also love the mental image that comes to mind thinking of my cats duct taped to my body. :rolleyes:
Perhaps a trailer is not a bad investment for such an ordeal.
Thanks.

"Cats don't like riding on a bicycle....no matter how much duct tape you use."
-- Anonymous

Over a couple of weeks ago I moved about four miles away. After I managed to finally "capture" our cat I managed to get her into the transport cage and rode my bike while holding the cage. She absolutely hated it and meowed the whole time. When I got home I let her out (she is an outside cat) and she ran away. I haven't seen her since and it's been over two weeks.:(

Go back to the old house. I can almost guarantee that she went back. Outside cats are territorial... that's where her territory is.

We had a cat that was the same... once he decided he was an indoor-outdoor cat (He started darting for the door every time someone opened it) there wasn't much we could do.

We moved less than a block away... and though he came by to visit once in a while, he never came into the new house. :(

Another cat that we had (she adopted US... ran into the house one day and wouldn't leave!) was also an indoor/outdoor cat... my wife gave her to a friend when she had to move while I was on deployment... The friend lived more than 10 miles away... as soon as the cat got out of her house, she went straight back to the old house.

It's spendy, but Sherpa makes a cat-sized pet backpack (http://www.target.com/Sherpa-Pet-Trading-CARRIER-BACKPACK/dp/B00061W88A).

If they're small enough, they can fit inside one's jacket. Here's the most precious cargo this bike messenger ever transported.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u94/donnambr/houseguest6.jpg

This is the passenger. While on a bike ride, my housemate and her boyfriend found him flung into a thorn bush next to his dead sibling.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u94/donnambr/houseguest2.jpg

He keeps growing, but they're taking him on the bike anytime they have to go anywhere. (He's still too small to be alone.)

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u94/donnambr/IMG_0267.jpg

"Cats don't like riding on a bicycle....no matter how much duct tape you use."


:roflmao::roflmao:
I can't imagine my cat enjoying a bike ride in any fashion. I just took my cat to the vet for her yearly check up when my roomate took his cat. Didn't feel to bad about catching a ride because he was already going. I wonder if cabs allow pets?

hey little buddy! what a cute little kitten!


http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u94/donnambr/IMG_0267.jpg

Aw...that little one is adorable!:love:
What about something like this (http://www.huckfinnpetsupplies.com/pe1.html)? I wonder how this would feel while riding? Cheap, yet seems like it may be a good idea perhaps with a few reinforcements.
Oh! I didn't even think about the cold! I may just have to brave the bus again in the winter. :eek:

I actually see a guy in my neighborhood from time to time with a cat on a lease perched on the top of his backpack. ...

Yeah, I've seen that too! I did a double take when the guy rode by with a cat standing on his shoulder. He stopped at the Dunkin Donuts, stood up, put the cat on the bike seat, and went into the donut shop. When he came out, the cat was still there; he picked it up again, put it back on his shoulder, and started riding again. He might have been wearing a backpack, I'm not sure; but I never saw a leash.

Awwww!!! So cute! Both the stoker cat and the rescued kitten.

I think with cats the main concept is not to train them, but to fool them into thinking that they want to do what you want. Maybe you could get them used to a small cat carrier in the house until they feel comfortable and secure in it. Start with just putting it on the bike, then gradually longer trips. Attach the carrier any way that is comfortable and safe for the kitty. And don't feed them just before in case they get bikesick. This works for cars and buses, so it would probably work for bikes too.

I've carried my terrier in a large backpack worn on my front and the terrier loved it with his front paws and head peeking out of the pack, but I'm not sure a cat would react as well.

I thought this thread was going to be about the sequal to "Snakes on a Plane".

I have been officially car-free for only a few months, but, in my mind, car-free for much longer than that (drove the car only from one parking spot to another so it didn't sit too long). The only obstacle I have come across is how to take my cats to the vet. I ride an old road bike and only have a quick-release rack for the back. I've googled bike pet-carriers and have yet to find anything worthwhile. What do you do? I took one of my cats on the bus, but would prefer not to do it again if I can avoid it. Any ideas?
I'm lucky in that there is a vet about 300m from my house. So I take the cats in a carrier on a pull wagon. (one cat fine to carry, both together plus carrier are heavy) A friend of mine takes the carrier inside of a bin style bicycle trailer. I would only do it on bike with trailer, not on any kind of rack contraption (for comfort of the kitties)

Once when I had a sick cat and my nearby vet was not open I took the cat in a taxi to the emergency vet. He didn't like riding in the car too much when he was sick, and I think it would have been a bumpier ride in a trailer.

Over a couple of weeks ago I moved about four miles away. After I managed to finally "capture" our cat I managed to get her into the transport cage and rode my bike while holding the cage. She absolutely hated it and meowed the whole time. When I got home I let her out (she is an outside cat) and she ran away. I haven't seen her since and it's been over two weeks.:(

You may want to check out your old neighborhood. Cats have been known to travel further to get back "home", especially outdoor cats. Try posting fliers with a picture and and talking to your old neighbors.

Good luck! I hope you find your kitty!

I'd be worried about some of the dogs that I've seen loose around my neighborhood giving a persistant chase when they see my crying kitty trapped in the Pet Taxi.

Our elderly cat hates travelling in the car in a cat cage and yowls like anything, but is always delighted to travel to the vet when her cat cage is carried on the back of my utility tricycle.

Hey Donnamb,

I was looking at your picutre and I was wondering are you a chick or a hippie with girly hands?

I can only see part of your hair and your hands. : )

She might be both...:)


One of the main reasons that I'm budgeting for an Xtracycle is so I can take my pets to the vet,

As it is, I've had to "bum rides" off family and friends. The bus here does not allow pets.

One guy I know Just gets a 12 foot leash, hooks up the cat and takes off. The cat is forced to keep up or else it gets dragged along. Since you're going to the Vet, any injury that happens along the way could easily be taken care of once you arrive at the office. By the time you head out for the return trip, the cat will be super motivated to keep up with the bike.

i wouldnt reccomend it because of the same reason i wouldnt reccomend strapping a baby to the rack, a random crash that we could easily survive could potentially be fatal or seriously damaging to the baby/cat. think about getting your handlebars bent in a wreck and instead having that force applied to your cat.

i would reccomend getting a $50 trike off craigslist, you could still get hit by cars but you couldnt fall to one side from hitting a bad pothole. put a blanket over a cat carrier in a metal basket attached to the frame in back (make sure it has holes to breathe, obv). trying to make the ride as smooth as possible, your cat wont like it, but it could work.

One guy I know Just gets a 12 foot leash, hooks up the cat and takes off. The cat is forced to keep up or else it gets dragged along.

That's cruel.

Yes. Always. Sometimes several.

Lots of good suggestions on here - thanks! I guess it's just a matter of finding something the cats are (mostly) comfortable with. I think the safety aspect will always be an issue, but I would be an even more attentive and safe biker with my kitties along, not that that necessarily means anything. :( Thanks again for all the ideas - except for the long leash - that brings horrible images to my head.

google search "burley flatbed"

that is one of the trailers that I have and they are the thing for putting a ped carrier on.

That would be the perfect thing for you because you can take the pet carrier off, slap a $15.00 45 gallon g(yes, I said 45 gallon) rubber maid tub on there and you can haul an entire cart of groceries home.

$200.00

Hey Donnamb,

I was looking at your picutre and I was wondering are you a chick or a hippie with girly hands?

I can only see part of your hair and your hands. : )
That's one of my housemates, and she is a chick. So is the housemate who found the kitten. So am I.

i wouldnt reccomend it because of the same reason i wouldnt reccomend strapping a baby to the rack, a random crash that we could easily survive could potentially be fatal or seriously damaging to the baby/cat. think about getting your handlebars bent in a wreck and instead having that force applied to your cat.

i would reccomend getting a $50 trike off craigslist, you could still get hit by cars but you couldnt fall to one side from hitting a bad pothole. put a blanket over a cat carrier in a metal basket attached to the frame in back (make sure it has holes to breathe, obv). trying to make the ride as smooth as possible, your cat wont like it, but it could work.

Here's a suggestion that will improve your riding immensely: Don't Crash. ;)

Here's a suggestion that will improve your riding immensely: Don't Crash. ;)

Works for me! I always wonder why people think that a trailer is so much safer than a single bike? I agree that the ride might be a bit smoother, and putting the weight down low would be more stable. But what magic is there that says you aren't going to crash and have the trailer run over in traffic? Or something fails on the trailer and it flips? (I have had that happen once) I think if a person takes proper care in attaching something to the bike and has competent bike handling skills the risk is pretty minimal. JMHO... FWIW in all my years of commuting I only went down one time and it was because I did something stupid.

Aaron:)

google search "burley flatbed"

that is one of the trailers that I have and they are the thing for putting a ped carrier on.

That would be the perfect thing for you because you can take the pet carrier off, slap a $15.00 45 gallon g(yes, I said 45 gallon) rubber maid tub on there and you can haul an entire cart of groceries home.

$200.00

I can haul about 3/4ths of a cart home with just my rear rack and panniers(Total cost <$70)... I should hope for $200 you can haul quite a bit more! ;)

I'd go for a burley trailer in a second if I had the cash, though... I'm currently looking for a used child trailer to convert for hauling my dogs and other stuff... If I can find a Burley for reasonable, I'd be a VERY happy camper! :D

My BoB is rated for 70 lbs. but I regularly have about twice that much in it when we go on grocery runs... For some reason I always seem to wind up hauling all the heavy stuff, it's a mystery.

One guy I know Just gets a 12 foot leash, hooks up the cat and takes off. The cat is forced to keep up or else it gets dragged along. Since you're going to the Vet, any injury that happens along the way could easily be taken care of once you arrive at the office. By the time you head out for the return trip, the cat will be super motivated to keep up with the bike.

Tell me you're kidding!!The only way that would work is if your buddy ran there bare foot too.You can't expect a cat to run on pavement for any length of time.There pads can't take it.There even more tender than a dog's.The rationalization that if it gets hurt well you're going to the vet anyway, is f@#king ********!These animals count on us to take proper care of them.Your buddy doesn't deserve having a cat if that's the way he deals with it.

Here's a suggestion that will improve your riding immensely: Don't Crash. ;)

This quote assumes all crashes are by choice...

You can be the best biker in the world but the world is still full of random adversities that can take you down.

That unseen rock or pothole can send your two-wheeled bike and whatever's strapped to the back crashing to the ground

a three-wheel is slightly more stable and less likely to fall in this situation, in a head-on collision with a car going 40mph the difference between two and three wheels is negligible

The "plan only for what you expect/want to happen" approach is not safe, why wear a helmet when you know you aren't going to be hit by a car?

This quote assumes all crashes are by choice...

You can be the best biker in the world but the world is still full of random adversities that can take you down.

That unseen rock or pothole can send your two-wheeled bike and whatever's strapped to the back crashing to the ground

a three-wheel is slightly more stable and less likely to fall in this situation, in a head-on collision with a car going 40mph the difference between two and three wheels is negligible

The "plan only for what you expect/want to happen" approach is not safe, why wear a helmet when you know you aren't going to be hit by a car?

The ONLY crash I worry about on a bike is getting hit by a car. Everything else IS fully within my realm of control. I've only once hit a pothole that I didn't see coming, at the time I was doing 25 mph right behind a bus... the bus was concealing the pothole until was too late to avoid it.

Normally I'd say that was my fault for following the bus too close, but even then... a normal sized pothole I could have avoided (And know where they all are on the different routes I ride.) This pothole was a new one due to our VERY nasty winter weather last winter and was about 8" deep and several feet wide.

Just like when carrying a child, someone carrying a loved pet on their bike is going to be extra cautious and ride within their limits. As an example: I've never once crashed while carrying groceries on my bike, despite 2-3 trips per week of about 5 miles for the last year and a half.

It really isn't that hard to keep a bike upright. ;)

I have taken mine to the vet in a trailer, but I do not normally do this. I live in one of the hilliest parts of the country, and the ups and downs are just too stressful for him.

If you live in a flat landscape, a trailer could be a good solution though.

I was in a road race once (never again!!) and hit a hellacious pothole while in the peleton. Besides it feeling like my prostate and every other organ had ruptured we all just kept right on chugging at 25 plus mph.

In case anyone cares how the race went I found myself up near the front with about 13 miles to go. I felt really, really scary strong and combined with nervousness I attacked! I stood out of the saddle and after about 4 good pumps realized what a terrible, terrible mistake I had made. I realized that I was not strong but rather knew immediately that I could not finish what I had started.

By now I am really, really nervous and emberassed. I tried to just let the peleton swallow me up again. They did but I could not go from coasting to 25 mph again fast enough to stay with them. As I found myself going backwards through the group I got a lot of swearing and name calling and then I was crapped out the back like a turd.

I ended up just being within eye shot of the group as they finished.

I was emberassed, scared and vowed to never do it again. ha ha ha

I would rather enter a tough man competition where at least I would understand what was going on and how I got my brains beaten out!!!

I was in a road race once (never again!!) and hit a hellacious pothole while in the peleton. Besides it feeling like my prostate and every other organ had ruptured we all just kept right on chugging at 25 plus mph.

In case anyone cares how the race went I found myself up near the front with about 13 miles to go. I felt really, really scary strong and combined with nervousness I attacked! I stood out of the saddle and after about 4 good pumps realized what a terrible, terrible mistake I had made. I realized that I was not strong but rather knew immediately that I could not finish what I had started.

By now I am really, really nervous and emberassed. I tried to just let the peleton swallow me up again. They did but I could not go from coasting to 25 mph again fast enough to stay with them. As I found myself going backwards through the group I got a lot of swearing and name calling and then I was crapped out the back like a turd.

I ended up just being within eye shot of the group as they finished.

I was emberassed, scared and vowed to never do it again. ha ha ha

I would rather enter a tough man competition where at least I would understand what was going on and how I got my brains beaten out!!!


:lol: What does this have to do with the thread?

:lol: What does this have to do with the thread?

Cat 6?

:D

Hey Donnamb,

I was looking at your picutre and I was wondering are you a chick or a hippie with girly hands?

I can only see part of your hair and your hands. : )

Here in Seattle, that would be 'womyn' to you, Bub!

Here in Seattle, that would be 'womyn' to you, Bub!

I don't know....

The other day a couple of 60ish professional women were sitting in the break room at work. I know they both have pretty strong feminist backgrounds. I don't know why, but I greeted them with, "Hey, how you chicks doing today?" At first I worried that I had offended them, but they both kinda giggled. One said, "Chick? I haven't been called that in years. Thanks!"

It really isn't that hard to keep a bike upright. ;)

you've obviously never ridden your bike home from the bar...

You are gravity's "female dog".

I have been officially car-free for only a few months, but, in my mind, car-free for much longer than that (drove the car only from one parking spot to another so it didn't sit too long). The only obstacle I have come across is how to take my cats to the vet. I ride an old road bike and only have a quick-release rack for the back. I've googled bike pet-carriers and have yet to find anything worthwhile. What do you do? I took one of my cats on the bus, but would prefer not to do it again if I can avoid it. Any ideas?

I would only consider using my bike's rear rack with the study plastic carrier strapped to in in the event that happend last year to my Leona the cat:

http://www.geocities.com/folder_fanatic/PetsPage.html (http://www.geocities.com/folder_fanatic/PetsPage.html)

to

http://www.geocities.com/folder_fanatic/PetsPage2.html (http://www.geocities.com/folder_fanatic/PetsPage2.html)


I prefer to use the luggage cart and tow the carrier with the cat(s) inside first.

I would only consider using my bike's rear rack with the study plastic carrier strapped to in in the event that happend last year to my Leona the cat:

http://www.geocities.com/folder_fanatic/PetsPage.html (http://www.geocities.com/folder_fanatic/PetsPage.html)

to

http://www.geocities.com/folder_fanatic/PetsPage2.html (http://www.geocities.com/folder_fanatic/PetsPage2.html)


I prefer to use the luggage cart and tow the carrier with the cat(s) inside first.

First of all, I am very glad your cat is okay. I cannot believe a tail would just fall off! :eek: My cat has a very badly bent tail - 90 degree angle right at the base and a few kinks the rest of the way up - and he has full mobility for the most part (a little off on the balance once in a while though) and I got him that way, so I wonder if something similar happened to him when he was a baby.
Second, I think that's a good idea - to have some back-up transportation or emergency options. I guess a cab could always be my emergency option.
Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions and advice. I'm thinking a Burley or similar will probably be the next purchase after the new bike :D