The Fat Cat Backpack Review

By Craig / October 10, 2018

If you've got a relatively large cat and you don't like traditional carriers then the Fat Cat Backpack should be a serious consideration for you and your feline friend. Even if your cat isn't large, it is still an excellent option.

Anyone who reads StuffCatsWant consistently knows that I've been working Lexi and Beast up to being Adventure Cats, but they are certainly not as adventurous as I would like.

Not yet at least. But that hasn't stopped me from continuing to take them on lots of expeditions and slowly acclimating them to the outdoors! So check out the table of contents below or watch the Video Review.

What Have Our Cats Done With It?

Lexi and Beast are both very interested in the outdoors, but they're also massive scaredy cats. Usually a loud noise or just an unfamiliar sound will cause them to run right off of our patio and back into the house.

Because of this they usually only go outside when fully harnessed and leashed, but it can be a hassle to take them far like this. That is, unless you have a killer bubble backpack for them to take a ride in!

The Fat Cat Backpack has been great for all sorts of outings in Chicago:

We've taken them on numerous trips to the grocery store which is about a 1.5 mile round trip
We took Beast on a 15 mile bike ride to go buy an ottoman for our office, she loved it and the staff were huge cat fanatics that were happy to meet and pet Beast
Trips to the veterinarian are routine in our household, the fur balls need their check ups
They've both also been on numerous walks just to go and sniff the fresh air
They've even gone on a walk through the Chicago Zoo to check out the other animals
A trip to a restaurant with a patio where they can chill inside the carrier and sniff

Take Your Cat on a Fat Cat Adventure Today

What's It Look Like In Action?

This is a quick set of pictures we gook of Beast before we took her on the above mentioned 15 mile bike ride. First and foremost we had to get her leashed and harnessed up Check out those little toe beans!

Then we got ready to go ourselves, so Beast had to chill out in the backpack for a few minutes and wait at the front door on the rug...She was busy looking around wondering when we were going to leave...

Then we stopped in the park for her and gave her a few treats to convince her to come out. She mostly stayed inside the carrier though because there was a lot going on in the area we stopped in...

Beast relaxing in her carrier at the park

But she did come out for a few minutes just to explore, as soon as we flipped the Fat Cat Backpack back up vertically she decided to climb it to find her way back in. Apparently she finds it to be a pretty cool safe spot!

Beast climbing back into the Fat Cat Backpack

Then once we popped off our bikes we had to walk a bit so I snapped a few extra shots of the pack in use so you get an idea of what it looks like from all angles.

The Video Review

I've also got a comprehensive video review for those of you who like to see things in action a little bit more. You can check it out here. If you do find the video helpful please do subscribe so I can keep making more of them!

Check Out The Fat Cat On Amazon

Major Features Worth Calling Out

Rated by the manufacturer to hold a cat just under 20 pounds comfortably.
Tons of space inside for your cat to sit or lay down and even spin around.
A boat load of ventilation: top vents, 2 side vents, 3 front vents and vents in the bubble.
Built in safety connector for your cat's harness or leash to hook on to.
Padded adjustable shoulder straps and a chest strap for a more stable ride.
A removable lambswool interior base, comfy, but super easy to wash.
Rubber feet to keep it from sliding on wood or tile floors.

A Few Things Worth Considering

There's only one top entry point available for you to get your cat inside. If your cats don't like being 'put inside' a carrier then I've found simply laying the bag down and placing treats inside convinces mine to walk in on their own. But if your cat isn't treat motivated there aren't side doors.
Switching out the vent for the plastic bubble can be a bit of a hassle (true of every model with a bubble I've used to date). I do have a short YouTube video on how I did this for other backpacks. The process is the same so feel free to check that out. If you want the specific video the manufacturer also has one here.

What Differentiates It?

The Fat cat is a great traditional backpack style carrier that's going to be comfortable for you and even better it is also going to give your cat a great ride. There are a couple of key items that differentiated this bag from other competitors (like the Texsens Innovative Bubble backpack) for me:

The zippers: The zippers have so far been really solid. I've had some experiences with other bags where the zippers simply don't work or they slide out of the tracks and I have to mess with them to get them back into place. I haven't run into that even once with this bag.
Window Placement: The whole point of a bubble backpack is to ensure your cat can see out of the bag. Many other bags seem to place the bubble way too high in the bag and the cat has to be sitting all the way up to look out. This version is placed in a better spot in my opinion, Lexi and Beast both seem to spend more time looking out than they do in other bags.
Space Inside: As mentioned, the claim to fame for this bag is the amount of space inside. Compared to other bags it does provide additional space for your cat to move around. Both my cats can easily turn around and find a comfy way to lay or sit in it without any issue.

Wrapping It Up

All in all you've got an excellent Cat Bubble Backpack at hand with the Fat Cat Backpack. It's is comfortable for the humans. It is comfortable for the felines. It gives your cats a view and it makes them a topic of conversation too! I've had lots of people stop and ask if there's a cat inside.

And last but not least, it is certainly a heck of a step up on any single shoulder strap carrier that you might have around. It won't dig into your shoulders and you don't have to try and hold it with one hand while you lean over to counter balance the weight either.

I give it a solid 2 thumbs up and Lexi and Beast both give it 5 paws of satisfaction. And yes, I know cats only have four paws, but I couldn't figure out how to design a scale of paws and a tail...

Overall StuffCatsWant Rating

5 Paws (Out of 5)

Check Out The Fat Cat On Amazon

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