We all love our pets, and for some of us, our Draculas. One way many of us show that love for our furry friends is by doing little somethings – or big somethings – to make the car a nicer and/or safer place for them. That may be as simple as having a favorite blanket for them to cozy up in, or as elaborate as installing a backseat extender to give them a pup-sized studio apartment in which to frolic.
My family’s fido is a tiny little gal who is terrified of car travel, I assume because she thinks every trip is a visit to the vet, even though the destination is usually the groomer followed by a pup-cup. I’m not sure how much it helps, but she stays cozy while scared out of her wits in one of these things:
And for cat owners, uh, I honestly have no idea. Do people do special things for their cats in cars? I would think protecting the car from the cat would be the main concern. I suppose I could just Google it … ope, yep, of course there’s cat stuff. Lots of cast stuff. For example, check out this lil’ guy(?) chilling in his Portable Cat Travel Litter Box with Lid and 10 pcs Disposable Liner Bags. Get your own cat-toilet briefcase today!
It’s Autopian Asks, so you tell us: How Have You Accessorized Your Car For Your Pet(s)?
Top graphic image: depositphotos.com
Got a 33 lb mutt who loves the car. I have one of those car covers for the back seat, harness and seat belt that clips to the harness and uses the normal passenger belt buckle receiver. Also had some door card protectors – from Weathertech I believe – but one flew out the open window. Oops.
https://www.weathertech.com/seat-protectors/
https://www.weathertech.com/door-protector.html
You can find a million of the seat belt thingies on amazon.
As an aside, she also loves using the side car on my Mod Easy ebike (same deal with harness and belt that clips into stays on the floor of the sidecar)
I’ve two very large foxhounds, one of whom is chilled beyond belief and the other, I’m tempted to grind Xanax into his food every time we need to go anywhere in the car. I loved my old Volvo V70 when it was still roadworthy, as taking them anywhere was a doddle in the massive boot, there was a standard retractable net built into the back seat that could keep them separate from the passenger cabin, and ample tie-downs to attach their harnesses. The car was also low enough for them to hop into with ease, unlike a crossover such as, say, my dad’s Renault Kadjar. My experience with that Volvo guarantees my next car will be a wagon.
Nowadays, I drive my wife’s VW Passat and, while it’s fine, I don’t love it as much as my Volvo, and being a saloon means we have to carry the boys in the back seat, so it’s out of bounds for any extra humans we may want to bring with us to the beach or the forest park. With that said, we don’t need much for the boys. Keeping dogs secure in cars is mandated by law here. Usually there’ll be a buckle that’ll plug into the seatbelt receiver at one end and an attachment that clips to their collar at the other, but ol’ Worf & Chewie know how to unbuckle those, so we use a set of strong clips that fasten to the headrests instead. Apart from that, we have a big waterproof dog blanket thing that extends from the backs of the front seats to the rear headrests that keeps the boys contained. Waterproof is important as, even though Worfie is zen as fuck, he has a bladder the size of a golf ball. That’s all our boys need, other than a beady eye on them at all times, because they can also open the rear electric windows.
For a dog, there is only one correct answer. A good harness and a “leash” that connects the harness to the seat belt latch. Many years ago, I had my dog in the back seat and got hit hard on the passenger side. The windows shattered, and the dog, being very frightened, jumped out and ran across four lanes of highway. I got lucky, and there was a kind person who was able to wrangle my dog.
Beyond that rare scenario (but we all wear seatbelts for the same reason) is the fact that a harness that connects to the seatbelt latch is that it keeps the dog from flying around if you stop short.
As I understand it, there are only two brands that are actually crash-tested: Kurgo and Sleepypod Clickit. We use a Kurgo harness and Kurgo tethers in all of our vehicles. I even added heavy duty tie down loops to the Miata so our pupper can be restrained even with two humans on board.
Beyond that, he gets a seat cover and if the trip is going to be longer than about 30 minutes, he gets a doggie bed, his blankie, and a toy or two.
I also highly recommend a WaterBoy. This guy won’t drink out of it while on the move (our previous dog would), but it doesn’t spill, is easy to carry, and looks reasonably comfortable to drink from.
No customization. But of all the cats I have had, my current furball Melonie is the only one who doesn’t mind a bit being in the car. She is purrfectly happy to just get up on the cargo cover and watch the world go by out the back window of my wagon, or curl up on the passenger seat for a nap – preferably with the seat heat on, of course.
All the rest of them would just howl at best, and puke at worst.
Had an 80 lb. German Shepherd when I bought a 300zx. She was too big for the passenger seat, so I just unbolted it, stuck it in storage, and covered the passenger with a couple of layers of memory foam and blankets. She happily rode around with me for a couple of years in that car. Unexpected side benefit turned out to be how low those cars are; she was able to just step in and out without help even as she got older and less mobile. Who would have thought a 30+ year old sports car would be an ideal elderly big dog transporter.
Our daughter has doggie car seat for her small labradoodle service dog, which has an optional safety harness. This keeps the small dog from getting lost in the vastness of her Buick LeSabre. The dog is OK with this but her favorite conveyance is our son’s Toyota HiAce which is nicely carpeted and a veritable dog mansion.
I was at a government auction with a friend he got a dog catcher van with the cages still in it for his wife who was always moving dogs around for the dog people. He later got a wheelchair mini bus and we put some cages in it for that.
Nothing. Cats hate cars.
I have an ~12lb Maltipoo. He was sliding all over the leather front seats. Got him a bed for the front seat. Now we can hang out the front window without sliding every time I turn or stop.
Full seat cover for the back seat and a collapsing dog ramp that he doesn’t think he needs to use and tries to go around it and just jump in. All Subaru stuff.
Is that the “sh*tcase” that the RV aficionados use?
Mrs. Trousers, aka adumi……………seriously I cannot be bothered. A Somali cat, if you look them up on twinterweb the trousers thing makes sense, enjoyed riding in the sidecar. A balancing act, hind legs on the seat cushion, fore-paws on the dash (do sidecars have dashboards?) Sliding sideways was a problem, there was an answer. That stick on Velcro stuff, the hooky side not the fluffy bit. A strip across the bit under the screen of the sidecar and she was happy.
My stepfather was not keen about cats, the day he was overheard calling her “sweetums pussum pie” is still revered.
Add me to the list of people who was ambivalent at best regarding cats… until we got one. Now we have two.
One of us!! one of us!!
We have a hammock-type seat protector over the back seats, and a center armrest cover because doggo likes to put her front paws on it and “be up front” with us (The hammock is supposed to prevent that, but she’s a determined doggo and we gave up). There’s also a tether attached to the seat belt to keep her from getting any farther forward. It’s attached to a harness rather than just her collar.
Same here, a hammock and a tether attached to the seatbelt buckle.
My Impreza is the dog car. We bought it specifically with hauling our three dogs around in mind. It has rubber protectors in the cargo area and on the rear seatbacks and we bought a custom fit pad for it. My senior cattle dog particularly loves it. He can step up into the footwell and onto the back seat and the younger ones hop in through the rear hatch. We’ve been able to fit a fairly large crate in back to do rescue transports too.
Done nothing – doggos love 70’s wagons! https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1118670024744390756/1341512337907122266/IMG_8568.JPG?ex=67c8b939&is=67c767b9&hm=0389be064bf2e929710516816a1c1fb3687c89940cf3a75f4a0fff46a361f412&
2. Cargo net between the load area and seating area. Separation is safety, for both of us.
1. Converting from a compact wagon to a Wrangler, with its big boxy rear for a large dog.
Our Subaru Crosstrek came with a bunch of rubber protectors, including on the backs of the fold-down seats, so it was mostly dog-ready. The only additions have been a neoprene cover for the center console (to protect from dog nails) and a couple of pillows stuffed under the front seats (to keep balls from rolling underneath them).
I bought my two golden retrievers their own car. It’s a 500 dollar Saturn Vue. I still have to drive but it’s a good match. One of them is orthopedically impaired so I built a platform that plugs into the trailer hitch receiver and gives her a nice 24 inch deep step to climb on to before getting in the back door. We’re in a therapy dog group that does regular visits to nursing home, library, and elementary school and they love to ride.
I have a rear seatcover that went from one dog and an 07 9-3 to a puppydog and a 10 Sportwagen. Awesome as its way easier to clean than the rear seat. Also doesn’t seem to get stinky either. Woof!
Rather than accessorize, we just bought the car with them in mind. Our ’23 Mercedes wagon has dog- (and kid- I suppose) sized rear-facing seats that fold down when not in use. I put the seat belt tethers in the spot where the fold-up safety triangle would go if we had a Euro car – it’s a little compartment with a plastic door that’s empty in the US.
Before this car we bought a pet-friendly seat cover for the rear seats that worked pretty well – it had nice slits for putting the seat belt tethers through that sealed up with velcro.
I also bought a car with them in mind. Back in 2018 when I was looking for a new car, I went with an Audi TTS because those ridiculous back seats were perfectly sized for my dogs. I can fit two dog beds there.
Duluth Trading – Scouts Mobile Mudroom. Backseat cover that will stand up to black lab on muddy hike. 5 years going strong.
I haven’t made any permanent mods but I would. Usually I just get the doggos warm soft blankets so in the winter when I go inside for groceries they stay all warm and cozy inside the car, maybe take a nap as well, while I shop.
Would they be warm enough without the blankets relative to how long I grocery shop for? Yes. But would they be anywhere near as cozy without the blankets? No.
The question is ill-formed. He’s made it clear that he considers these to be his cars:
https://live.staticflickr.com/7902/33155882908_602fcb2b4e_c.jpg
I have a seat cover over the back seat. I also keep a collapsable water bowl for when we take them to parks and stuff. Also have seat belt tethers for their harnesses.
My first dog, like a week after getting him, was standing in the back seat with his head between the front seats. I got cut off and had to slam on my brakes and he ended up in the front passenger floorboard. No more of that.
Years ago I was coming back from the vet with my dog and had to emergency brake – poor dog flew into the passenger footwell (he was in the seat). Fortunately he was not hurt. Pre-internet days so I couldn’t easy see how to avoid that in the future (I don’t know if there were any belt options then) so I always made him ride in the back seat after that.
My wife has a 2020 pacifica that is totally set up for the dogs. There is a $2000 42×42 dog kennel in the back with racks on top. The middle seats are down with tie downs if more dogs are needed. She drive all over the country with our dogs to lure coursing events, agility trials, dog shows. My jeep has a webbing barrier over the back seat and all child seat anchors have webbing dog anchors to be able to clip in 4 dogs. The kennel looks a bit like this https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0244/1569/9008/files/dodge-durango-custom-dog-kennel_sm.jpg?2384