# Bike basket for kitty?



## marshyandsugar (Mar 3, 2016)

I want to get a basket for my bike so that I can ride around with my cat, but my mother thinks that being outdoors will scare my cat. 

My cat loves fresh air and is intrigued by the outdoors but is afraid of cars. 

Do you think he would be fine riding around with me?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I think you should start slower with this poor cat. If it's already afraid of cars it's going to FREAK THE HECK OUT riding on a road with cars going by.

I'd start with maybe a pet stroller and see how that goes. Then *IF* the cat likes it try the stroller with the mesh folded down and in a harness so you can see if it tolerates that.

*IF* the cat still isn't afraid then try the basket.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I tried Book outside on a harness when he was about 2 years old. The first car got him nervous (I was still holding him, I still hadn't put him down yet). The next car went by got him pretty tense. 

The third FREAKED HIM THE **** OUT. He started flipping out in my arms, gave me a HUGE DEEP gash and landed flat on his head on the sidewalk. 

Then he spazzed in his 'No Slip' cat harness and slipped out of it and took off running. I managed to corner him behind the complex A/C unit and managed to grab him when he tried to climb the fence.

If he had made it over that fence, he'd be gone for good. It's a straight shot to a major 4 lane highway.

My point is that if he's already nervous about cars, there's not point in freaking him out just for your amusement. I'd give it a very tentative try and if it doesn't go very very very very well then give up and let him be the indoor only cat that he wants to be.


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## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

Taking your cat out in a bike basket will be fun for you, but utter torture for your cat. Don't do something like that just because you want to.

Cats already aren't usually fond of not being in control of their movement - e.g., being in cars, being held and carried around, being in a carrier - so to put a cat onto a jouncing, bouncing, speeding object with strange scents and threats whizzing by at 10 MPH - it's a recipe for disaster. 

Plus all it takes is for one thing to scare your kitty and he'll launch himself right out of that basket to try and escape it. Worst case scenario, he isn't secured at all, he lands and breaks his legs. Other worst case scenario, you've harnessed him down and secured him in, so he tries to leaps out, can only get halfway out, and dangles down from the basket, struggling and clawing. Either way, it's 100% fear for him, 100% of the time.

Plus, what happens if you accidentally hit something, get something tangled in the spokes, and fall? What if someone else hits you while you're riding? 

Cats do not need to be outdoors. Cats do not need fresh air. Cats do not need to be exposed to the outside world in order to lead fulfilled lives. Your kitty may like to sniff at the outside through a screen door, but once he is outside? The world is full of threats, other animals, humans he doesn't know, noises, shadows, tons of things he doesn't understand. It's nothing but stress and danger - other creatures can attack him, he could get hit by a car, he could catch an illness he wouldn't be exposed to indoors or eat something he would never encounter indoors. Sure, plenty of cats LIVE outdoors - mine's managed to stay alive for 18 years despite being an outdoors cat - but for a kitty who has BEEN an indoors cat, there's nothing outside that they need to be exposed to.

You'll find nice, pretty blogs about people who go hiking with their cats, or take their cats for bike rides, or surfing, or sky-diving. But generally the typical cat does not tolerate these activities if they are not introduced to them at a very young age. 

Don't do this to your cat. He doesn't need it, and you don't need to risk all the things that could go wrong.


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## jking (Feb 22, 2014)

I agree with all of the above responses. I would never consider putting my cats in that kind of danger. There are probably some dogs that would do fine riding in a bike basket, but not cats.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

I think your hopes of a bike basket have been dashed to the ground by now.  But better safe than sorry.

I agree, though, that it might be too much of a risk. I think MowMow's experience with Book says it all. WAY too risky.

your cat may be perfectly happy just watching birds through a screen so he can smell the fresh air and hear the sounds of nature, but NOT have any of the associated dangers. heck, I love action and adventure movies, but would I jump off a bridge onto a train below myself? I don't think so. I'm happy being a spectator.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Yeah, I jumped off a bridge once. Missed the train and hit some fool riding his bike with a cat in the basket.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

^ True story.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

HA HA HA! Good one! :thumb


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

I'm going to agree that, in this case, a bike basket might not be as fun for the kitty, but I also won't rule it out wholesale.

If he was a kitten you could likely teach him to be accustomed to a harness, a basket, and biking. I have seen videos of kitties who really enjoyed it, and I think my two boys would like it if I had trained them to it when they were younger - but with an adult cat who isn't accustomed to a harness or being outside it's too much of a risk. Especially if you have no option but to bike around cars.

If you're really set on the idea this is what I'd do:

Get a fully enclosed carrier that will strap firmly onto your bike - NOT an open topped basket.

Spend a few months getting the cat used to the harness, to the point that his behavior doesn't change at all when it's on in the house, and he'll willingly allow you to put the harness on.

At the same time, get him comfortable with the carrier, and being carried in it inside the house. These two things will take months - and you can't rush it, or you're dooming the rest of the process before you start.

Put him in the carrier (no bike) with his harness on and walk around the yard once a day. Don't go far, or near the road. At this point it will become obvious if he'll enjoy biking, or will hate it forever. If he's curious and interested you've got a shot - if he's terrified and velcros to the bottom of the carrier and cries...no go.

Assuming he handles short walks well and seems very happy to get in after a few days of walking around the yard - or even better, if he's happy and excited and walks right into the carrier on his own - then start going for longer walks.

Once you can go around the block a few times then you can try biking, but again shorten the distance.

I can't guarantee it'll work, but if I was going to try it that's what I'd do.


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

When I was little I used to take my cat out in the doll carriage. Poor thing, he was terribly frightened and always jumped out and ran into the bushes as fast as he could. We lived on a very quiet street with hardly any traffic, but he was terrified of the road, which is a good thing. So I could only have him in the carriage on my porch. If I started down the driveway he was out of there!

It would be very sad if your cat jumped out of the basket and tried to run somewhere to hide - on a street.


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## marshyandsugar (Mar 3, 2016)

Thank you all for your rationale. I will definitely NOT be taking my cat any further than my yard unless I have him accustomed to a harness and leash. And even so, I will be much more considerate to his feelings. I have always thought of him as a tough guy but all cats are sensitive. 

Thanks again to everyone for showing me the bigger picture!


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

I think you are making a good choice. Training him to leash and harness is cool - it helps if you need to take him somewhere. I always harnessed and leashed my cats when we went to the vet - even in a cat carry box, you never know when the cat will make a break for it!


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