# How do you secure carriers with a seat belt?



## wickedwitch (May 8, 2012)

I'm trying to find the safest way to do this. I'm especially interested in doing so with hard carriers.

Thanks in advance.


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## Dexter (Nov 15, 2012)

I have never done that I have always held the cat in the box on my lap or we have made room on the floor in the car and we put the box there but 9 times out of 10 Dexter will sit on my lap and look out of the window. ( he doesn't pee if he sits on my lap and he calms down)


please tell me if i am being really irresponsible I really don't want to put my cat in any unnecessary danger


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Well, I don't know if I would say irresponsible, but my biggest fear would be one of my girls getting in the gas pedal/brake pedal area. Also, I was recently in a car accident where both cars were totaled, and there had been a loose cat in either car, it would have been very bad. My twins HATE HATE HATE the carrier, but too bad, I'm the Mommy and it's for their own good.

I have large, soft carriers for my girls, I've never had to secure them, it doesn't have any room to move around in the front seat. Fits pretty securely in the back seat, too.


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

I don't know what kind of suggestion you are looking for, OP, because there seems to be no "trick" needed for me. I have a hard cage big enough for 2 cats, and I just put it on my passenger side seat, wrap the seat belt as if doing it for a kid. Then I will adjust the lower belt (the part that wrap around your hip), to make sure it wraps the cage properly. Sometimes it's too low and would slip undercage. Pretty much that's it. Very easy!

It's quite dangerous, for everyone including ppl & cat in the car, and even other ppl, to let the cat run freely when driving. If your cat happen to decide to sit under your break pedal, it's disastrious. Yes, maybe 999 out of 1000 times your cat won't, but it only takes one time for you to be regretful for life. Also if you make a sudden stop, even one that doesn't seem to the THAT sudden to you, your cat will fly and got hit badly, because he is much smaller and lighter. And I don't see that scenario to be quite rare.


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## binkyhoo (Feb 16, 2003)

yingying said:


> I don't know what kind of suggestion you are looking for, OP, because there seems to be no "trick" needed for me. I have a hard cage big enough for 2 cats, and I just put it on my passenger side seat, wrap the seat belt as if doing it for a kid. Then I will adjust the lower belt (the part that wrap around your hip), to make sure it wraps the cage properly. Sometimes it's too low and would slip undercage. Pretty much that's it. Very easy!
> 
> It's quite dangerous, for everyone including ppl & cat in the car, and even other ppl, to let the cat run freely when driving. If your cat happen to decide to sit under your break pedal, it's disastrious. Yes, maybe 999 out of 1000 times your cat won't, but it only takes one time for you to be regretful for life. Also if you make a sudden stop, even one that doesn't seem to the THAT sudden to you, your cat will fly and got hit badly, because he is much smaller and lighter. And I don't see that scenario to be quite rare.


I agree in total. I have done that exact thing with the seat belt. It might not fit so well as a child, but if you adjust it about, it gets some benefit of restraint. I would be mortified to drive with a loose cat/dog/Hubby/ anything in the car.

You might be a good safe driver, but other people are not!


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I use hard carriers for my girls. When in the car, I put the carriers in the back seat and put the seat belt through the handle, which I've always heard is the safest way, since the carrier can't slip under or over the seat belt. Also, in an accident, the carrier can't be crushed by front seat airbags. 

I too wouldn't keep a cat on my lap. First, if you were ever in a major accident where airbags were deployed, the airbag could easily crush the cat. Even if airbags didn't deploy, the cat could go flying and be seriously hurt, as mentioned by others. Also, your cat could easily bolt from the car, if a door opened or a window were smashed in the accident, whereupon the cat could run into oncoming traffic, or be lost, etc. Of course, these are all worse-case scenarios, but better safe than sorry.


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## Kaylesh (Aug 22, 2010)

I just put the hard carrier with the front facing forward and put the belt through the handle as well. Keeps my boys nice n secure. 
Agree with never keeping them on your lap for the reasons mentioned.


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## Ritzpg (Dec 7, 2010)

I like to put the carrier on the floor; I adjust either forward or backward the front passenger seat to make the fit tighter.
Frankly, I hadn't thought about the seat belt option. Interesting idea. Twiddledee and Ritz both hate the cat carrier to the extent they get bloody paws trying to get out. It helps them a little if they see me, so putting a seat belt around the cc would let me put the carrier in the front passenger side.
Based on my experience transpoting 35 feral/stray cats I also have these suggestions:
If the cat is particularly, um, upset about being in the cat carrier, place a heavy object on top of the carrier. A bag of dry food works well. I had one cat I swore would break through the top. If the carrier is too large to place on the floor, position the front opening of the cat carrier flush against the door to the car. So both openings are effectively blocked.
I am somewhat paranoid that the cat will escape while I'm driving. I had a near miss once where I had the cat in the carrier in the car, went inside for a moment, and when I came out I noticed the emergency lights were flashing. Which was interesting since I hadn't turned them on. Turned out "Petey" had escaped from the carrier and had turned on the emergency lights when he jumped into the front sea (abandoned cat, later re-socialized the readopted)


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

I sort of wrap the seatbelt around the carrier and fasten the handle(they close with velcro) around the seatbelt. I have soft carriers. I do take the time to fasten the handles as once when I didn't have them fastened in, Lily's carrier rolled when I went around a corner.


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## binkyhoo (Feb 16, 2003)

Susan said:


> I use hard carriers for my girls. When in the car, I put the carriers in the back seat and put the seat belt through the handle, which I've always heard is the safest way, since the carrier can't slip under or over the seat belt. Also, in an accident, the carrier can't be crushed by front seat airbags.


I like your Idea better than mine. That would be better in the case of a real nasty accident.


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## CatMonkeys (Sep 27, 2012)

Dexter said:


> I have never done that I have always held the cat in the box on my lap or we have made room on the floor in the car and we put the box there but 9 times out of 10 Dexter will sit on my lap and look out of the window. ( he doesn't pee if he sits on my lap and he calms down)
> 
> 
> please tell me if i am being really irresponsible I really don't want to put my cat in any unnecessary danger


Are you holding the cat while driving, or are you a passenger in the car?


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## scottd (Jun 28, 2011)

I usually just buckle them in the best I can in the back seat. We only put 1 of the dogs in a carrier when it goes though. Tina likes to move around too much and she is more likely to run away if she was to escape the car than the dogs.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

I strap them in like children too, in the back seats. The open fronts face inside so the girls can look at each other, and so I can see them in the rearview mirror. The shoulder restraint keeps the carriers (hard) from shifting or tumbling if I have to brake suddenly. This has happened to me, and the carriers stayed put. I pull the part of the seatbelt that goes around the waist tight right under the place where the top and bottom lock together. 

For those who run the seatbelt through the handles, the carriers don't shift around if you have to brake hard or make a sudden turn? If not, maybe I'll try that. It sounds easier than fussing with the position of the seatbelt.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

spirite said:


> For those who run the seatbelt through the handles, the carriers don't shift around if you have to brake hard or make a sudden turn?


Mine don't, although it might depend on the type of carrier/handle. My carriers are made out of a hard plastic and the handle is not just screwed onto the top; rather, the handle and the top are all part of the same mould. So the handle itself can't move. It's a bit hard to explain, so below is a little picture of the carrier (P.S. the teeny-weeny fluffball to the right of the carrier is baby Abby!). I put my carriers in the backseat lengthwise, so the front seat prevents them from moving back and forth, while the seatbelt prevents them from moving side-to-side or up into the car ceiling (in case of accident).


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## rightsaidfed (May 31, 2012)

My carrier has a seat belt tab on the top that the belt just slips under. I also loop through the handle. 

Depending on the size and style of the carrier, you may have to go front or side-facing to make sure it fits properly. 


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Susan said:


> Mine don't, although it might depend on the type of carrier/handle. My carriers are made out of a hard plastic and the handle is not just screwed onto the top; rather, the handle and the top are all part of the same mould. So the handle itself can't move. It's a bit hard to explain, so below is a little picture of the carrier (P.S. the teeny-weeny fluffball to the right of the carrier is baby Abby!). I put my carriers in the backseat lengthwise, so the front seat prevents them from moving back and forth, while the seatbelt prevents them from moving side-to-side or up into the car ceiling (in case of accident).


Wow, that's cool. My carrier is the type with the handle that's made to lay flat, either to the left or to the right, so if you lift it, it's easy for the carrier to tilt to either side. When the kitties move around inside while I'm holding the carrier, it wiggles around, so I feel like the seatbelt looped through it wouldn't be as effective. Maybe someone has a carrier like mine and has tried this method?



rightsaidfed said:


> My carrier has a seat belt tab on the top that the belt just slips under. I also loop through the handle.


Wow, cool again. I may have to check out new carriers. We only make short trips now (about 3 miles to the vet), but people here don't know how to drive - they tend to cut you off and turn without signaling, so I do want to make sure the carriers are well-secured.


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## bkitty (Aug 17, 2009)

Give up on the dream of using the seat belts & go out & get elastic tie down straps from the lumber yard or hardware dept. They come in both a elastic cord style & a thick flat rubber style (AKA tarp straps which can be ordered on line from any shipping equipment company) with S-hooks on both ends. I strap the carriers into the back seat. Feed the straps thru the handles & hook under the back seat. If you don't have handles then use duct tape to secure the strap to the top of the carrier. I also run a short strap from the front of the carrier & underneath to the locked seatbelt to prevent the possibility of the carriers sliding forward. Since we travel a lot with our cats we have found that we can get 6 carriers in the back seat double stacked in an SUV.


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## rdswan14 (Nov 2, 2012)

rightsaidfed said:


> My carrier has a seat belt tab on the top that the belt just slips under. I also loop through the handle.


I put the seat belt around it, but it is a struggle to clasp so mu husband drives and I sit in the back seat with the carrier. There is a flap of some sort on the top. I'll have to see if that is for the seatbelt.


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