Mr. Peanut's Premium Soft-Sided Pet Carrier Backpack for Small Cats & Dogs - Lightweight & Breathable with Self-Locking Zippers & Faux Fleece Padding (Platinum Gray) | Perfect for Air Travel, Vet Visits & Outdoor Adventures

My curious and active 7-year-old indoor/suburban porch kitty is learning to travel and become an adventure cat. He took to the harness and leash pretty well, although I can't really walk him in my neighborhood as he's terrified of cars and lawnmowers. And he doesn't walk very fast. In anticipation of bigger and better adventures, I started looking into backpacks. I wanted him to feel safer being outside and we needed to be able to cover more ground. I was skeptical of the space-pack ones, and the array of other options, then I saw this one. That it’s handmade in the US was attractive to me, as was the reasonable price. If my cat wasn’t going to be all in with this, I didn’t want to make a huge investment.SIZING: My cat is athletic, thin build, long-legged, 8.5 lbs. He can sit upright in this bag, and lift his paws a bit to poke his head out. He can also curl up on the fleece pad at the bottom of the bag and sleep (or cower when a car goes by). The stability insert at the bottom is sturdy enough support him and he doesn’t sag the bag, but I think a larger cat might. It’s possible that a sturdier insert could be an improvement, but I don’t think this pack would work for a large cat anyway, both from the sagging aspect of weight, and the lack of room to move around, change position, or even get in and out of the bag when being gently shoved by his or her human.COMFORT: For the human, this bag is very comfortable to wear on both back or front, with nice padded straps. It doesn’t have a waist strap, but for a 10-lbs load you don’t need one.FEATURES/PRACTICAL USAGE: Here’s how Rorschach and I evolved with this bag.When it arrived, I put it upright by the front door, with the front drawbridge screen open, for a few days and occasionally put treats inside. I kept his harness and leash nearby so he associated the two. He got to know it a bit that way and one day, while he was wearing his harness and leash, I gently pushed him in and zipped it up, and secured the leash to the sewn-in D-ring inside via a small carabiner (not included). Success!Alas, our first short trip didn't end well. I had the backpack on my back, and as we were walking home after what I thought was a good first outing, a car came up the street from behind us (which meant that he was looking straight at it though the front screen) and he shat himself. This was, of course, mortifying for him. Thankfully, the bag comes apart and the parts (all well made) were easily hand washed and dried.The next time I took him out, I wore the backpack on my front. This was the gamechanger, as now he can see where we're going, and I can interact with him, feed him treats through the top zipper, pet him, etc. When cars go by, I turn so he isn’t looking straight at them. Often while we're walking, I keep the top completely open and he sticks his head out and looks around. Although the solid flap at the top has a snap to keep it out of the way—a nice feature—the screen flap doesn't, so I have to collapse it toward the inside of the bag, or shove it behind the solid flap. That could be an added feature: something to hold the top screen open for long hikes when the cat wants to check out the scenery. He doesn’t try to jump out the top when we’re walking, primarily because he feels secure in the bag. And if he did, his leash is attached to the D-ring.When we get somewhere, such as a park bench, I sit down—and the bag is now on my lap if I’m wearing it in front—or I can take it off and set it down next to me on the bench—and we switch to using the front drawbridge-style opening. It gives him a secure spot to check out the surroundings and when he’s ready to venture out, he can. Again, his leash is attached to the D ring (and my hand if I’ve removed the bag). Use either the top opening OR the front—when both are open, the bag loses rigidity and can collapse in on itself. And if the cat needed to return quickly to the safety of the bag, you wouldn’t want to have to try and secure both openings. I haven’t tried plane or car travel with the bag yet, but laying the bag down horizontally and using either the top or bottom openings is also an option. All the ingress/egress options make this bag extremely versatile and are probably my favorite feature.After more practice and while wearing the bag in front, we’ve learned to use the front drawbridge opening while we're walking: The leash is long enough that I can, while standing, open the front, he jumps down and walks for a while. (We do this when we get back to our street and he heads for the house on foot). When I hear a car, I scoop him up quickly and shove him back inside that front opening and zip it up, all while wearing the pack on my front. I see the potential to train him to jump back in himself, but that will take some time. He doesn’t mind being put back in—he seems to know that I’m doing so for his safety. Another feature that comes in handy are the pockets. I can stick my phone, treats, house key, etc. in the zipper pocket, and bring a water bottle in that pocket. There’s even a little poop-bag pocket with a dispenser.As we continue to use the pack, I anticipate being able to wear it on my back, with the top open, as long as we’re not around a lot of traffic. Every time we go out, he gets more comfortable. A nice additional feature, although I haven’t yet had to use it because I’ve been wearing the bag in front, are the zipper locks. If he gets curious enough to try and push his way out, he won’t be able to. The tiny plastic buckles might be a little hard to manage if you have big fingers, but they’re an excellent safety feature.RECOMMEND: Even though I pointed out small potential improvements, I give it five stars overall for a being a great bag with tons of versatility and nice features, and at a reasonable price. And it’s opened up doors for having adventures with my cat, which has been a longtime goal. He’s highly enriched by our neighborhood outings and I have more ability to travel beyond now. Win-win.