6 Best Cat Carrier Backpacks (2026)

If the vet is a ten-minute walk away and you don't have a car, a carrier swinging from one hand starts to pull at your shoulder by the second block, and your cat feels every step. Get the Petsfit backpack. Its frame keeps the walls from folding in on her, the top is stiff enough for a cat to stand on and look over your shoulder, and a hip belt carries part of a cat up to 18 pounds for about $58.

It's 17.5 inches tall, so it won't go under an airline seat, and I'd keep it for walks and short trails rather than a whole day on your back.

Our picks

6 picks, best first

Best overallPetsfit Soft Pet Backpack Carrier$57.90 as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET · 17.5 in tall
Check price on Amazon
Best for hikingKurgo G-Train Pet Carrier Backpack$144.95 as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET · 21 in tall
Check price on Amazon
Best bubble backpackTravel Cat The Fat Cat Backpack$124.99 as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET · 17.7 in tall
Check price on Amazon
Best under $40PetAmi Backpack Carrier$39.99 as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET · 16.3 in tall
Check price on Amazon
Best for flyingSherpa Deluxe Convertible Carrier & Backpack, Medium$76.99 as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET · 10.5 in tall
Check price on Amazon
Best slingTomkas Pet Sling Carrier, Zip Pocket & Adjustable Strap, Medium$35.99 as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET · Medium, 3 to 10 lb
Check price on Amazon

On this page

The cat backpacks, ranked

Top pick

Best overall

1. Petsfit Soft Pet Backpack Carrier

A stiff frame that keeps the walls off your cat, a flat top she can stand on, and a hip belt that takes some of the weight off your shoulders.

$57.90as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET

Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

Your cat weighs 18 pounds or less and you'll carry her to the vet, around the neighborhood or on a trail of an hour or two.

Skip it if

You're flying with her: at 17.5 inches tall, it fits under no airline seat.

Petsfit gives it 13.5 by 12.5 by 17.5 inches and a limit of 18 pounds. The frame is what you pay for: the walls stay up, so she sits on a flat floor instead of sliding into a sagging pouch, and the reinforced top holds a cat standing on it, for the one who would rather ride on the bag than in it. Four mesh windows let the air through, there's a leash clip inside for her harness, and the mat comes out for the washer.

The hip belt and chest strap move some of the weight to your hips, which you'll notice on the walk home from the vet. It's a pack for every kind of outing, as long as you don't expect to carry it for hours.

It comes ahead of the Kurgo because most trips with a cat are short. For the vet or the park, the Petsfit carries her just as well, keeps her in a firm box, and costs far less.

Measure her sitting up

The bag is taller than it is long, so your cat rides sitting or curled. Measure her sitting, from the floor to the top of her head: the bag is 17.5 inches tall outside, and she needs room under the top.

Where it falls short

No room for your own things beyond two small side pockets.
Eighteen pounds is the limit, and a big male Maine Coon is past it.

Best for hiking

2. Kurgo G-Train Pet Carrier Backpack

A real daypack, with a hip belt, two bottle holders, a padded laptop sleeve and a waterproof bottom, for a cat up to 25 pounds.

$144.95as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET

Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

You'll hike for half a day or more and need water, snacks and a jacket in the same pack as your cat.

Skip it if

Your cat fights her way out of every carrier. You load her through the front, into soft sides that give.

The G-Train looks like an ordinary daypack, and it carries like one. It's 13 by 10 by 21 inches and takes a cat up to 25 pounds, with fiberglass rods sewn in for shape, a hip belt and a sternum strap, two water bottle holders and a padded sleeve that holds a laptop or a water bladder. The bottom is waterproof, so a wet trail or a muddy parking lot doesn't soak through to her, and the pad inside goes in the washer. Off your back, the shoulder straps tuck away and it becomes a carrier with grab handles.

Where it falls short

It's the priciest backpack on the list.
Packed full, your gear takes room from her side of the bag.

3. Travel Cat The Fat Cat Backpack

A clear bubble for the view and a mesh screen that swaps in for warm days, in a bag made for cats up to 25 pounds.

$124.99as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET

Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

Your cat is big, up to 25 pounds, and she likes to watch the world go by.

Skip it if

She hides when she's nervous. A clear bubble gives her nowhere to go, so ride with the screen, or pick the Petsfit.

Travel Cat makes the Fat Cat for cats up to 25 pounds and gives it 15 by 11.4 by 17.7 inches, an inch and a half longer than the Petsfit. She goes in through a zippered top, and the front takes either a clear bubble or a mesh screen, which you swap by hand. That screen is why it's on this list. The bubble is the part people want, and the part that gets warm: on a sunny day, put the screen on.

Where it falls short

Expensive for what is still a soft bag with a frame.
No hip belt, only shoulder and chest straps: with a cat near 20 pounds, keep it to short outings, or take the Kurgo.
The listing calls it airline approved, but at 17.7 inches tall it fits under no airline seat.

4. PetAmi Backpack Carrier

A framed backpack that opens on both sides and folds flat, for a cat up to 18 pounds, with a sherpa-lined bed inside.

$39.99as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET

Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

You're not sure your cat will take to a backpack and want to find out for about $40.

Skip it if

You want a backpack for flying. Sold as airline approved, it's 16.3 inches tall, over every limit under the seat.

The PetAmi opens on both sides, so you can load her from whichever side faces you in a narrow hallway or the back seat of a car. PetAmi gives 12.5 by 10.2 by 16.3 inches, a limit of 18 pounds and a frame that keeps the bag from collapsing. Inside there's a short strap with a clip for her harness and a sherpa-lined bed, and a collapsible bowl comes in the box.

Where it falls short

At 10.2 inches across, it's the narrowest backpack on the list: a cat near 18 pounds will be snug.

5. Sherpa Deluxe Convertible Carrier & Backpack, Medium

The only backpack on this list that goes under an airline seat as it comes, on Delta and United.

$76.99as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET

Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

The backpack's main job is a flight, with a long walk through the airport.

Skip it if

You mostly walk or hike. It's an airline carrier with straps, low and long, not a backpack shaped for a trail.

Every other backpack on this list is over 16 inches tall and won't fit under the seat in front of you, even on its side. The Sherpa is 10.5 inches tall, and it goes under the seat on Delta and United without pressing it down, for a cat up to 16 pounds. It opens on the top and the side, the straps clip off at the gate, and it's in Sherpa's Guaranteed On Board program; the airline-by-airline sizes and the guarantee's conditions are in the best airline cat carriers.

Where it falls short

Its 16-pound limit is the lowest of the closed backpacks on this list.

Best sling

6. Tomkas Pet Sling Carrier, Zip Pocket & Adjustable Strap, Medium

A soft pouch on an adjustable strap, with a zipped pocket for your keys and a safety buckle that clips to her harness.

$35.99as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ET

Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

Your cat is small, under 10 pounds, and calms down held close to you: a short walk, the waiting room at the vet, a crowded sidewalk.

Skip it if

Your cat weighs more than 10 pounds or bolts at loud noises. A sling is open on top, and only the buckle holds her.

The Tomkas is a soft pouch on a shoulder strap that adjusts with a plastic buckle, so two people of different heights can wear it. There's a zippered pocket on the front for your phone and keys, and a safety buckle inside that clips to her harness. Tomkas says never to clip it to her collar: if she tries to jump, the collar pulls on her neck.

Where it falls short

Ten pounds is the limit, which leaves out most grown males.
It carries her on one shoulder, so you'll switch sides on a long walk.

At a glance

Backpack	Price	Best for	Type	Cat up to	Size (in)	Opens
1 Petsfit Soft Pet Backpack Carrier	about $58	Walks, the vet, short hikes	Mesh backpack	18 lb	13.5 × 12.5 × 17.5	Top
2 Kurgo G-Train Pet Carrier Backpack	just under $145	Day hikes, cats up to 25 pounds	Hiking daypack	25 lb	13 × 10 × 21	Front
3 Travel Cat The Fat Cat Backpack	just under $125	Big cats who like to look out	Bubble or mesh	25 lb	15 × 11.4 × 17.7	Top
4 PetAmi Backpack Carrier	just under $40	Trying a backpack for the first time	Mesh backpack	18 lb	12.5 × 10.2 × 16.3	Both sides
5 Sherpa Deluxe Convertible Carrier & Backpack, Medium	just under $77	A flight, and the walk to the gate	Carrier with straps	16 lb	17 × 10.5 × 10.5	Top and side
6 Tomkas Pet Sling Carrier, Zip Pocket & Adjustable Strap, Medium	just under $36	A small cat held against you	Sling	10 lb	Pouch	Open top

Are bubble cat backpacks safe?

They can be, if you choose one with a mesh screen and know your cat. The SPCA in New Zealand doesn't recommend backpacks built around a large clear bubble: a nervous cat has nowhere to hide behind it, and the bags can be cramped, poorly ventilated and quick to overheat. The Fat Cat answers most of that with a screen that swaps in for the bubble. A cat who hides when she's scared is better off in a bag without a clear front, like the Petsfit.

Best cat backpack for large cats

Two backpacks on this list take a cat up to 25 pounds. The Kurgo is the one for a long hike, and the Fat Cat the one for a big cat who wants to look out; it's also 15 inches long at the floor, more than most bags, so a big cat has a little more room to turn. Past 25 pounds, or for a long Maine Coon who wants to lie flat, carry her in a long carrier for the car and the vet instead.

Sling cat carrier or backpack?

A sling is for a small cat you want against your chest, for a short time: the waiting room, a fireworks evening, a few blocks. It's open on top, so the only thing keeping her in is a buckle clipped to her harness. For anything longer than a short walk, or for a cat over 10 pounds, a closed backpack is safer and easier on your back. The harness goes on first either way, and the leash or the clip goes on the harness, never the collar.

What to look for in a cat backpack

Her size, sitting up

A backpack is taller than it is long. Check the maker's dimensions against your cat sitting, and the weight limit against her real weight.

A clip inside and zippers that lock

A short tether that clips to her harness means opening the top on a trail isn't an escape.

A hip belt for anything over a mile

Shoulder straps alone get tiring with a 12-pound cat. A hip belt or chest strap spreads the weight.

Mesh before plastic

Mesh lets the air through on every side. A bubble is for the view, and it should come off for warm days.

A mat that comes out

Accidents happen on the way to the vet. A removable mat goes in the washer; the bag itself only wipes clean.

The backpacks I'd let someone else carry

Travel Cat The Navigator Convertible Backpack

Pockets everywhere and a water reservoir sleeve, at the top of the price range. The same hiker who likes the Kurgo found its curved back pressing near her tailbone, and the bag pulling backward under the cat's weight. The Kurgo carries a day's gear and a hip belt.

Pecute Bubble Cat Backpack

Its own listing says it suits cats under 13.2 pounds and that pets of 6.6 to 8.8 pounds are the most comfortable in it: a small cat's bag, sold as large.

Yunpawpet Cat Sling Carrier

A soft fleece sling, but its safety leash is made to clip to the collar, the one place it shouldn't go. The Tomkas clips to the harness.

AnccoPlus Pet Sling Carrier

A comfortable front carrier for a pet up to 20 pounds, but the listing says it has no buckle or ring inside, so there's nothing to clip her harness to.

Also compared: LOLLIMEOW Large Bubble Backpack, Petsfit Expandable Cat Backpack and Travel Cat The Fat Cat Mini.

How I picked

A weight limit and dimensions from the maker or sellerA frame that keeps the walls upA clip for her harness insideMesh, or a bubble that comes offPrice

How I choose what to recommend

Pin: The Best Cat Backpacks, From a Walk to the Vet to a Day on the Trail

Save it for laterPin this guide and find it again when you are ready to buy.Save to Pinterest

Common questions

Are cat backpacks a good idea?

For a cat who's curious outside and calm being carried, yes: a backpack takes her along to the park, the vet or a trail with your hands free. For a cat who panics outdoors, a closed carrier is kinder, and the cat carrier and travel page sorts them by trip.

Do cats like hiking in a backpack?

Some do, some never will. Start at home: leave the backpack open on the floor for a few days, then a walk around the block, then a short trail. If she pants, cries or tries to claw out, stop and try again another day.

What is the best backpack for hiking with a cat?

The Kurgo G-Train, for its hip belt, bottle holders and a limit of 25 pounds. For a trail of an hour or two, the Petsfit carries her just as well for much less.

Can I use a backpack cat carrier on a plane?

Only one that fits under the seat, and the walking backpacks on this list don't. The Sherpa backpack does on Delta and United; the answer for each airline is under can you use a backpack carrier on a plane.

How heavy a cat can a backpack carry?

Two of the backpacks on this list stop at 18 pounds. The Kurgo and the Fat Cat go to 25, and a sling like the Tomkas to 10.

The verdict

Walks and the vet, or a trail

For a cat under 18 pounds and trips of an hour or two, the Petsfit. For a big cat or a day on a trail with water and lunch on your back, the Kurgo.

$57.90 as of Oct 22, 1:48 AM ETCheck price on Amazon

Sources

Cats in Harnesses and on Leashes, SPCA New Zealand
PETSFIT Soft Pet Backpack Carrier for Hiking, Petsfit
The Fat Cat Cat Backpack, Travel Cat

More from Pup & Tabby

CatsThe Best Airline-Approved Cat Carriers for Flying With Your Cat CatsThe Best Cat Carriers for Vet Trips, Car Rides and Large Cats CatsThe Best Cat Litter for Odor Control, Low Dust and Every Budget