Top 5 Best Cat Backpacks (We Tried Them All)

Hey everyone, it's Mallory here with All About Cats, and in this week's video we're taking a look at the top five best cat backpacks you can buy. So in order to make this video, I spent some time researching cat backpacks, learning about the different types of backpacks available, learning about the different qualities that differentiate a good backpack from a bad one, and selecting some of the most popular backpacks on the market to try for myself. I've tried out eight different cat backpacks and taken notes on how they perform in certain key areas. I did a test to determine how well their mesh stood up to some scraping with the side of a knife. I, of course, carried my cats around in them. I looked at the comfort level for both my cats and myself. I looked at additional features that could make them a little more useful when you're out walking with your cat, and I evaluated the value that you're getting overall for the price of each of these backpacks. So keep watching to find out what I thought of each of these five backpacks and who I think is going to get the most out of each of them. So my first recommendation is the Navigator from Your Cat Backpack. So this is a backpack intended to support your needs when you're going out hiking with your cat, and it incorporates a lot more features than any of the other backpacks on this list. So in terms of human comfort, you're getting a lot of pockets, you're getting zippable pockets, you're getting lots of organization in there, stretchy pockets for a water bottle, plenty of storage for when you're going out with your cat, which is quite nice. On your cat's end, you're getting plenty of cushioning on the inside. It has a large capacity of 25 pounds, and everything feels nice and supportive with plenty of adjustability to ensure that your cat gets kind of the perfect ride. It was comfortable, seemed to be durable. In my test trying to rip the mesh with the side of a pocketknife, it fared pretty well. And you get plenty of adjustability on the straps. Everything cinches into just the right position. So it's going to be nice and comfortable for long periods of time walking with your cat on your back. Another thing I like about the Navigator is that it's the only backpack on this list that has locking zippers, which you would think would be a feature of any cat backpack, but for some reason it isn't. This is going to help to keep your cat secure and prevent them from sticking their claws out in between those two zipper pulls and ripping the whole thing open. At $159.95 on Amazon, this is the most expensive cat backpack on this list. And clearly it's not going to be worth it for everyone, but if you are going out for long periods of time, then it could be worth the price. If you want to spend less than $45 on your cat backpack, I would recommend the TechSense Pet Carrier Backpack. I purchased the updated design, which has this cover over the front, but you can also get the older model, which is just a lot of open mesh, for under $30. So it's a good budget-friendly option, and I found that the design was also quite good. It has an 18-pound capacity, and I found that it seemed to be pretty durable, and it contained Wessie well. He seemed to be comfortable in there. Gladly, the tether is long enough that he can kind of lie down comfortably, and I found that the weight balance was overall pretty good when I was carrying it. You get a nice amount of adjustability on the shoulder straps, but the waist strap is kind of silly on this backpack, so it doesn't tighten enough, and so it just really didn't work well for me. So I really wish that the manufacturer would put a little more thought into this and give you a better waist strap. It's pretty disappointing. But other than that, I like the design. Good breathability, good cat comfort, and a good size for most cats. I purchased the TechSense Pet Carrier Backpack on Amazon for $41.99. My next recommendation is also from the brand Your Cat Backpack, and it is the Jackson Galaxy Convertible Backpack. I'll be recommending it as a good backpack for larger cats, and it's also a good convertible backpack. So if you want to use your pack as either a backpack or just a regular carrier, this one's going to be a good choice. So this backpack with a 25-pound capacity is a good option for larger cats, and I found that the interior space is quite roomy. However, it has an issue of the tether being quite short, so your cat isn't able to lie down, which I find to be a bit of a frustrating design element. Wessie, though, seemed to be pretty comfortable sitting in it. You get two options for the window. You can either use the bubble window or this little screen. When I tested the durability of the mesh windows, everything went well. I think this is the most durable of the backpacks I'm listing here. While it scores well in terms of cat comfort, I found that it's not really the most human-friendly backpack, and the reason is the adjustments are just kind of limited. So you can adjust the shoulder straps, but the sternum strap is not really adjustable. The backpack functions well as a regular carrier, so you'll flip it over, attach the strap, and then spread out the base, and it becomes a nice, easy-to-carry carrier. So I really like the convertibility of this backpack. At $139, again, it's pretty expensive, and I don't know that I think it's entirely worth it for everyone, but if you do want a backpack that'll fit a large cat and work as a carrier as well, it could be a good choice. And then my next recommendation is going to be an expandable cat backpack. So if you're taking your cat with you on a plane, for instance, and you want to give them a little bit more room for spreading out during the flight, then the Mancro Expandable Cat Backpack could be a good option. So this is a very basic, lightweight cat backpack that has an expandable mesh compartment that you can open up when you're not carrying your cat around. And so this adds an additional 11 inches of space to the carrier, makes it nice and comfy for your cat when you're still. Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the way that this backpack carried my cat, so I found that the way it's made kind of puts the floor of the pack on an angle, and so it's not all that comfortable for the cat when they're riding. I also found that the frame of the expandable section kind of digs into your back when you're carrying your cat around. It's kind of difficult to get the perfect adjustment and to get it really comfortable, and I really wouldn't recommend this as a backpack to be used for long walks or even on a very regular basis. It's more something you would use to just carry your cat around the airport or maybe into your car. It's just not really a high-performance cat backpack. On the bright side, though, you're not spending that much on it. So at $35.79, this is the cheapest backpack on this list, and I think it has its place and could be functional for, again, certain situations. Now, my last recommendation is going to be the only kind of spaceship bubble backpack on this list, and the reason why I didn't focus on this very popular type of backpack is because it's just not ideal for cats. So that kind of clamshell design makes it a bit harder for you to put your cat in. It's less comfortable for them, and then secondly, this type of backpack tends to heat up when it's in the sun. However, I realize some people are going to want to use a backpack like this, and it certainly can be a good option for just short-term use, and in that case, I would recommend the YourCat Backpack Voyager Pack. It has a capacity of just 13 pounds, so it's going to be best for smaller cats. Now, in my test, I found that while it was comfortable to wear, and my cat seemed pretty comfortable sitting in it, actually, it had some design flaws. So the first flaw is that the tether is ridiculously short, and so you're basically strapping a tiny kitten to the floor. There's no way to use it comfortably for a large cat, and so it's basically useless. I found that pretty frustrating. The other problem I had with this backpack was something I noticed as soon as I got it, which is that it has this plastic wrap that is put over the outside, and it's kind of hard to remove it because it's just stuck in the seams there. And so I found that a bit frustrating. It seems like it could have been packaged a bit better. I was not incredibly impressed with this backpack, but if you have a small cat and you really like the bubble style backpacks, it could be a good option for you. So at $69.99, this backpack is a bit pricey, but it does seem to be a bit better constructed than the other bubble backpacks on the market. The whole world of cat backpacks is still pretty new, and I think there's a lot of room for innovation and improvement. So I would love to see someone develop the perfect cat backpack so we can have something that everybody can really enjoy, which offers a really good value for the money. So I hope you found this video helpful if you're looking for a backpack for your cat. Let me know in the comments if you've used any of these backpacks and what you think of them and where you think you'll go with your cat in one of these backpacks. So as always, thank you so much for watching. If you would like to see more buyer's guides like this one, as well as specific product reviews and information on all things cats, please go ahead and subscribe to the All About Cats channel and click the notification bell so you get the news every time we upload something new. Thank you so much, and I'll see you next week.