We will be traveling with an 8 year old, 12 lb. cat in a few weeks, and I ordered this carrier due to the size, which is still larger than the airline mandates for under-seat stowage, but only by a couple of inches per dimension. The cat, which is average size, seems extremely cramped. She can turn around, but it is near impossible for her to fully stand up. Which means even if I did get her a carrier that would fit, she'd still not be able to stand up because she's supposed to be stuck under the seat (can't have the top part unzipped for her to stick her head out).
So this is a very small carrier, and I would recommend it for a chihuahua or animal of similar size, despite the up to 15 pounds remark. I'd suggest 10 lbs or smaller, for this carrier.
It is not the easiest carrier to get a cat into - the side zips mean you have to tilt the animal a bit to make sure they don't escape - it was fairly quick for two people, I get the feeling it will be tricky for me to do on my own. Fortunately my cat is already fairly mellow, so her escapes don't involve much scratching or biting. If your cat does do so, than I'd recommend an easier carrier - maybe one that only closes at the top.
However, once she was in the carrier, she made her customary protest meows to make sure we were serious about this and then settled down on the padded bottom. She did manage to turn herself around, so she wasn't entirely trapped. The extra pockets are nice, as is the clip to attach to her harness so when she's not in the plane, we can give her more of an option to stand up and not run around the airport. Part of me would like to see the handle be extendable and wheels on it, just to free my hands up a bit - I found it most comfortable for the cat to be carried on the front of my body so I could make sure she didn't slide around too much and I could use my hands easier than having her on the side.
Again, this is a small carrier. It just barely meets Southwest's under-seat dimensions, which is the only place you can have a cat carrier. That's not intended as an attempt to discourage anyone from buying the carrier or flying Southwest, but you may wish to poke around a bit to see what you can do to balance cost and comfort for your animal. The multiple ways of zipping/unzipping the carrier do provide a few other options to get the animal in, so y'all might have slightly better luck than I did. The half mesh/half solid sides seemed to be a comfort to my cat, as she likes to hide, but still had the option to peek out.Get more detail about Pet Gear Pet Bike Basket 3-in-1 Car Seat / Carrier / Bike Basket for cats and dogs up to 12-pounds, Black.
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