If you don’t want to get a cat carrier or just don’t have the money for one then you might be wondering how you’re going to get your cat around in your car.
Can A Cat Ride In A Car Without A Carrier?
The truth is that they can but your really need to be careful with doing this. I say this because you never know what could trigger a reaction out of your cat outside of your car. If they start running around they could get under your feet and cause you an accident.
If you have the money you could buy a “pet seat belt” and a harness to go along with it so they can sit in the front seat with you and not cause you problems while driving. These together will cost around 20-30 dollars.
Is It Illegal To Drive With a Cat If They Are Not In a Carrier?
If they are in something like a cat seat belt then its perfectly legal as the cat is being restrained and not a hazard to the driver or anyone else in the car. On the other hand, if your cat is roaming free inside of the car you can be fined a lot of money if you happen to get pulled over by the police.
Before The Car Ride
Make sure your cat is used to being in the car first. If you don’t do this they wont like the ride at all and will start meowing or yowling the whole way. They may even do something like throw up due to stress and you’ll have to clean it which is no good. Also check the weather and make sure the car isn’t too hot or too cold. If you are uncomfortable odds are they are too.
Cat Carrier Alternatives
If you have a cat harness you could use one of these and you will do just fine in the car with them. Just make sure to tether them somewhere or get a pet seat belt attachment in the car so if they freak out over something outside such as a dog or really loud noises they can’t distract you while driving.
If you don’t want to spend anything at all you could just make your own cat carrier as well. There are plenty of things around your house that you could probably make one out of.
• Laundry Basket Cat Carrier
Another idea for a cat carrier is you could take two laundry baskets, put them on top of each other and tie them together with shoestrings or rope. Make sure the baskets have ventilation holes in them.
• Pillowcase Cat Carrier
This is the simplest one on this list and a lot of people use this method as a result. Its also a lot easier getting them in it than a traditional carrier. You simply just put your cat in a pillowcase then tie the end. That’s it.
You also want to make sure the pillow case is in really good shape and doesn’t have any holes whatsoever because they could claw there way out of it. If you have concerns about them being able to breath while inside of the pillowcase the truth is they will be able to breathe just fine without any problems.
• Wooden Box
If you have some type of box made of wood you could drill holes into it and use it as a cat carrier.
• Cardboard Cat Carrier
Another way to go about this is make one out of cardboard. If you have an extra box laying around and some really basic cutting tools these are actually really easy to make. Making one of these can have it downsides however.
If your cat is aggressive they could claw through the cardboard and escape from the carrier. Another problem is that if they urinate it could make the cardboard soggy. If your cat doesn’t really have these problems it could work in your case. Here is a good video on how to make a cardboard pet carrier. You can go to the YouTube video by clicking here.
• Gallon Tote Cat Carrier
Some people may not like the idea of this one but there are some people that actually do this. You can use a storage bin which you can find pretty much everywhere like Walmart, Target etc. and drill a bunch of holes into it. If you don’t have one they cost about 4 dollars.
You also want to put something on the bottom like a towel or a blanket so it is more comfortable for them. Keep in mind your cat could get really hot in one of these so be careful with this cat carrier idea and don’t use it for long trips.
• Purse Cat Carrier
Unless you have a really large purse this one will probably only work with smaller cats. Take a small purse, cut windows on each side and put chicken wire over them. To hold the chicken wire together you just use twist ties or any other tying material that you have lying around.
• Plywood Cat Carrier
If you are really good with wood and you have the tools laying around to do this you can actually make a really nice one out of plywood. This video shows you how to do it with not too much effort on your part.
Final Thoughts
These are just some that you could build. The possibilities are endless. As long as you have something that is a decent size and has air holes it could probably work for really short trips. If you are only transporting your cat a couple of times using one of these methods is probably the best way to go.
However if you think you are going to do this more than once or are going on a much longer trip you should consider investing in a cat carrier. Some of them run around 20 dollars which is really cheap.
