Transporting Pets?
 

Anyone have a specific trailer setup for transporting small pets (cats specifically)? I just need to take my cats to the vet once or twice a year. Tried a Burley Tailwagon, but it's not very waterproof and too open/noisy w/ traffic.

Too bad Eugene doesn't have Flexcar, this is probably the only occasion I ever really need to use a car. I really don't want to have to buy another car just for a few seldom trips. :(

Here's how I do it.

Oh, good thread. I just ran across it.

I have a parrot. I haul her around sometimes in my trailer. She's got a small travel cage (small enough to fit under an airline seat). She goes in the cage, and the cage goes into the Burley Nomad. I use some towels to keep the cage in place in the trailer.

I usually put her cage in the rear of the trailer, and then open up the nylon top of the trailer back there. The small travel cage has an open top, that I partially cover with a towel. My bird can then look up and out to the sky or the surrounding trees if she wants to, or she can retreat under the towel.

All in all, she likes riding around. She gets some views of the outdoors, fresh air, sunshine, and some chat with wild birds. At the same time, she isn't just out in the open. (As with nearly all pet birds, being under an open sky makes her paranoid.) Often, we go to fun places: a friend's house, a nearby bird breeder's, a park, the woods. So, she's very willing to enter the travel cage, and gets excited when she sees me getting the bike equipment together.

When she was younger, I used to just sit her on the handlebars and go riding. If she fell off, she could fly just enough to catch up, and grab onto my shirt. Now, she's a better flyer. If you know about parrots, you know that even though a parrot would prefer to stay with you, she can be prone to panic-fly. If that happens, you might not ever see your bird again. So, no more unrestrained activity outdoors for my bird now.

Anyway, some lessons: with birds, and undoubtedly with other animals, getting them used to some sort of restrained travel at a young age is a *great* help. If travel is fun-- that is, not always to the vet-- it's much easier to elicit the animal's cooperation. Partially covering the animal's enclosure can help provide a feeling of security. And, as the previous remarks assume, I think it's best, if possible, to enclose the animal in a small travel cage before loading her into a bike trailer. This is more secure for the animal, safer if there's a crash, and can ingrain habits that would be just as useful in getting the animal comfortable with riding in a car, too.

A cat can fit in a small travel cage. I've seen people take cats on airplane cabins. If at all possible, I'd try to accustom a cat to entering a travel cage before entering a bike trailer.

Good luck with your non-human friends.

For cats, depending on size, can't you get a nice sturdy cardboard box that's affixed to a rear rack? If they are biger, then a bigger box affixed to a utility trailer. You can put as many holes in the box as your cats need to balance visibility/ventilation with shielding them from traffic sights and noises depending on their temperament...

For dogs, you'd probably need something bigger. I'm building a trailer specific for my dog. It's going to be very simple -- a wire cage with a solid bottom, and solid sides halfway up. The cage will be the structure and the container. I will probably remove every other "bar" for weight savings since he is a decent size and can't fit through (50 lbs). I'll also reinforce all of the edges of the cage by wrapping them in wire so they are less free to wiggle around. I'll use a threaded rod as an axle, affixed directly to the cage bottom and standard trailer wheels (the small ones with plastic rims). FOr attaching to the bike, a simple seatpost attachment coming off the top front of the cage should do. When I have it built, I'll post pictures.

I liked the pet baskets in the link in Donnamb's older thread - then I saw that they all had a 15lb limit :) My cats are fat...

I think I may look into a small pet crate (one of the ones with plastic top and bottom, and small wire door to peek out of) and drilling holes in the bottom to attach it to my rear rack. I am thinking if some straps go through the bottom of the crate, and several wrap over the top, that should be nice and secure.

Nope. If I had to cart my kitties around I'd put them in their pet crates and then lay hold of a two place kiddie trailer to set them in.

Try here

I do the same as Raiyn. Works well. Of course, cats never like to be carried in stuff for too long, but they just need to do stupid stuff so we don't take them to the vet. :p

;)

Woops, yep!