Choosing the Right Travel Crate: Sizing, Materials and Airline Standards

A crate is your pet's home for the length of the trip. It needs to be comfortable, secure and strong enough to protect your pet in a sudden stop. Choosing the right one is one of the most important parts of trip preparation.

How to measure your pet

For dogs and cats:

• Length: Tip of the nose to the base of the tail, plus half the leg length.
• Height: Floor to the top of the head or ear tips (whichever is higher) when standing naturally, plus a few centimetres.
• Width: About twice the width across the shoulders.

Your pet should be able to stand up, turn around and lie down naturally. Airline rules generally use this same standard.

Too big is a problem too

A crate that's far too large lets your pet slide around during braking and cornering. In a vehicle, snug but comfortable is safer.

Materials

• Rigid plastic crates are the most common choice for both road and air travel. They're strong, easy to clean and offer a sense of security.
• Metal wire crates offer great ventilation but can collapse or be pushed apart, and they're usually not accepted for air cargo.
• Soft-sided carriers are fine for cats and small dogs in a vehicle or airline cabin, but not for air cargo, and determined pets can chew or claw through them.
• Specialized crates exist for very large or strong dogs and escape artists.

Airline standards (IATA-based)

Airlines typically base their cargo crate rules on the IATA Live Animals Regulations. Common requirements:

• Rigid construction, with the top and bottom joined by metal bolts or fasteners, not plastic clips only
• Ventilation on several sides
• Metal door with a secure latch
• No wheels (remove them or tape them)
• Food and water dishes attached inside and fillable from outside
• Absorbent bedding
• "Live Animal" labels and orientation arrows

Always confirm the exact rules with your airline.

Setting up the crate

• Absorbent pad on the bottom, then familiar bedding on top.
• A worn T-shirt for smell.
• Water dish attached so it can't tip.
• Remove collars with dangling tags that can catch on the door (make sure ID stays with the crate and the pet is microchipped).

Crates for other species

Birds, small mammals and reptiles need different setups: low perches for birds, hides for small mammals, and bagged snakes inside rigid tubs. We cover those in our species guides, like our articles on birds, rabbits and reptiles.

Get your pet used to it

Buy the crate well before the trip and follow our crate training plan. 4Paws Movers can advise on crate size when you request a quote.