cat + xtracycle

A while back I emailed the “roots radicals” list, which is a group of mostly Xtracycle enthusiasts, asking for advice on carrying a cat on my Xtracycle. I got some really useful tips, including a few photos. This post is modified from a follow-up email I sent the group.

Saturday I finally had a chance to put them into practice taking one of our gang to the vet for his booster shots. I put on the wideloader that had been collecting dust in the utility closet and then sized up the carrier — the larger one we own wasn’t going to fit, but the smaller one did, just barely. I was able to get the straps positioned to hold it fairly sturdy.

Then I took it off again and put the cat in. 🙂 He was already pretty mellow (napping FTW!), and he was chill while I got the carrier strapped in. It wasn’t too hard to get the carrier off and back on at the vet, I wouldn’t really say any more time than coming around to the passenger side to take him out of the car.

I rode much slower than usual, partially to compensate for being a little off-balance, partially so he wouldn’t freak out. He was entirely quiet & relaxed, except while we were waiting to cross a very busy street, when he made the usual cat-cooped-up crying noise. I’m wondering if the sound of the traffic was getting to him. Coming home we were able to get across that street without a wait, and he was quiet the whole time coming back.

Admittedly, I live *really* close to the vet — about 2 blocks — so I don’t know how it would have been if we had to go farther or on higher-traffic streets. But I’d definitely call the experience a success.