My cat was much happier traveling in this carrier than the usual plastic crates.  My only frustration is that the base needs to be pushed down each time instead of staying in place.  I also would have ordered a larger size but only because I have a big cat.  On a recent trip, I even took him in the carrier into a store during a stop and had several people comment on how nice the carrier was.  My cat really likes the openness of this carrier.