Petmate Sky Kennel - For Air and Travel, Airline Compliant Dog Crate for Pets up 15-30 lbs, Heavy Duty Dog Kennel, Made in the USA- 28 Inches

I'm very pleased with this burly Sky Kennel. Now for the "Rest of The Story". What? I needed something sufficiently portable yet very sturdy and tough that I didn't have to build and give above average security for this nice friendly "Calico Cat" that just showed up one day, with a very active inclination to use her claws on everything. Welp, my little Calico Buddy, you're not an "indoor cat".... "Might-a-wuz", but now you isn't..... The Large "Myodal" Feral Cat Shelter for Outdoor Barn Strays fits inside this "Sky Kennel" perfectly. I covered the outside of this "Sky Kennel" With Single-Sided Sticky Anti Cat Scratch Deterrent Tape Furniture Protector to keep the wind and rain out.... I bought a heavy denier Waterproof Outdoor Grill Cart Cover with draw string, off Amazon, to complete the winterizing. Oh, uh, yeah, it snuck past me a concealed surprise. Give you three guesses and the first two won't count. Tasty "Temptations" Classic Crunchy and Soft Cat Treats lure "THEM" into their mansion each evening, for safety from OWLS and Such. Just Sayin...

I used this and the metal screw additional set to bring my pets to japan. I had a large one for the dog and a medium one for the cat. I didn't have any issues with Japan airlines. The crates were really spacious, and I feel like I could've bought smaller sizes because of how much room they actually had in there. It was easy to assemble and very sturdy. The design fit airline standards for international travel, but you will have to buy the extra kit for the screws. Both pets made it in one piece, so it served its purpose. The downside was that that take up too much space, so carrying them is impossible, you need a luggage cart. And then finding a vehicle to fit them in was expensive. We needed to rent a large van. And then no closet would fit them, so I had to disassemble them and store them outside, until I realized I really didn't need them, then I had to pay for large item pickup to dispose of them.

Perfect for my needs. I'm using this as an additional shelter for a couple of feral cats. I have been helping out a feral colony for several years now. A generous person in the community provides food and water consistently all year long as well as access to an unheated porch/mudroom. I help with acquiring supplies and engaging in seasonal set up and clean up. When the population was 12-15 (all trapped, spayed/neutered, returned to territory), we had several feral cat shelters in place around community. With the porch being home base for food and water. When the cold temps would set in, if any of the cats needed additional sheltering, the porch was/is always a place to go so we would set up a large dog house (igloo) with bedding (and if sub zero temps, add in heating unit). As the years have progressed, the population has decreased. At this point in time, there are but 2-3 cats left in the colony. While nothing else has changed for them, we decided that the large igloo dog house was too big to set up for 2-3 cats, and too big to be effective in cold weather. So, I set out to find a smaller unit that could handle 2 or 3 cats huddled together, or 1-2 spread out. We think it is 2 original feral cats and 1 random cat that likely has a home but enjoys eating the food. Sometimes a racoon or opossum, too. So come winter I expect to really see only 2 cats using the shelter. Although down to just two ferals, they have spent their entire life knowing that this is home base. They have zero inclination toward human interaction, but they know where the food comes from and will wait patiently while we fill bowls of food and water (2x a day!). So as I searched for the perfect vessel, I also took into consideration room for bedding and a heat pad. I didn't want anything too large (or I would just go ahead and use the old igloo), didn't want anything with lots of air holes, and preferred something flat on top so the cats could have an additional tier to lounge on. As with the igloo, we'd be keeping this up on a table. I looked at a lot of options- using a covered litter box if I could find one large enough, other containers.. basically wanted a large box that was smaller than the igloo but more sturdy than a cardboard box. It dawn on me to look at crates of this style. Even that took awhile to figure out, as there are many styles and most weren't what I needed- and were either too big or too small. SO, I was pleased when I found this one. The dimensions seemed right, the placement and size of the air holes seemed appropriate to our needs, and the top is pretty much flat. I put it together quickly. It comes with "live animal" stickers on it already along with another one. It also comes with a food/water holder. I don't need anything of that. I didn't even put the door on, but it would be super easy to put it on if the need arises. I can cover the air holes when it gets too cold by placing a towel over top and letting excess dangle down. The slats from the air holes will be perfect for use with a low wattage heating pad. We have a plug near table where this is set up, and I can likely figure out a way to fish the cord through, if not , then just out the main opening will work. If at some point this is no longer needed, then it will make a good bed for the indoor cats, or as a carrier for vet trips- if you have strength to carry this size as well as have room in vehicle. I have never air traveled with a pet, so I can't comment on how well it would stand up to those needs. I did notice that it has extra holes to run zip ties through for added security. This is explained in the short, easy directions. 28" L X 20.5" W X 21.5"H is large enough to accommodate a couple of cats, or a smallish dog. My pics are from after just setting it up. I have more to add to it, but at least you can see what it looks like once it is put together (minus the door).

Purchased September 2023 for October 16th 2023 travel date. For those PCSing overseas; I will preface my review with 2 things: 1. Review the most current IATA guidance 2. Everything depends on which check in Agents you have on the day of your flight For those not moving overseas, These kennels are great on their own without any modifications needed at all. If you’re just looking for something to keep in the house or a drive across the US no modifications are required. They make a great kennel option, that you can reasonably consider safe and secure for your pet. For overseas travel on commercial aircraft here are my observations: I purchased 2 XL kennels for 2 dogs, one dog weighing 48 lbs (black and white mix of many breeds) the other 68 lbs (half Sheppard half lab). The XL was slightly too large for the 48 lb dog and slightly too small for the 68 lb dog. Both were close enough to pass, and within the requirements of the IATA regulation. It’s hard to measure a dog, mine were afraid of the tape measure. I got the most actuate measurement of them while they were sitting in the old kennel I had for them, held the tape up against the side while they were sitting and got their height by interpolating between which cross bar of the kennel that their ears came closest to. Call the airline you plan to travel with to get their specific guidance on kennel requirements, some airlines add stipulations to the IATA regulation. I found that some of the additional requirements were based on outdated IATA rules, or simply misinterpreted IATA rules, example: red LIVE animal stickers. This rule actually applies to LAB animals, not pets. The IATA guidance still specifies green live animal stickers, but the airlines use live animal stickers with pictures of live animals, not the words “live animals”. They also use large up arrows to indicate the up direction of the kennel (see pictures). But, I still used the Live animals stickers that came with the kennels, because better safe than sorry. I covered the stickers with 3M packaging tape to keep them from wearing off from moisture. It held up from Dallas to Dusseldorf no problem. The person you talk to on the phone can’t change the airlines policy, so just oblige as best you can and get along with it. The IATA guidance has specific instructions on how to construct your own kennel. If you can’t find one in the correct size and are somewhat handy with tools, it might be worth the time to build your own BUT you need to know the weight limitations your airline has for the kennel plus the dog or animal, so keep that in mind if you choose to build your own (yes you can build your own kennel or pet carrier for cargo pets, follow the IATA guidance) Pet beds/kennel pad/absorbent material: I purchased 2 pet pads, one for each kennel (I shipped 2 dogs) the kennel size I purchased was the XL here’s the link for the pet bed that closely fits the XL: Washable Dog Bed Mat Reversible Dog Crate Pad Soft Fluffy Pet Kennel Beds Dog Sleeping Mattress for Large Jumbo Medium Small Dogs, 41 x 27 Inch, Gray https://a.co/d/gZE7hWM These dog beds are thin but super plushy and soft. I went as far as searching for a fleece bathroom mat to fit the xl kennel because I had a hard time finding a thin dog bed that would fit. These beds are great because they are not very thick, so they don’t add much to the head room or weight, which in my case I needed to preserve for my larger 68 lb dog. They are slightly too big for the XL kennel, but they are thin enough that they have a good bit of give to them and fold up when the door is closed. Under each pet pad I placed an adult bed absorbent pad, made for adult incontinence. I purchased these at wal mart for $17 for 40 pads. I taped one down in each kennel with 3M packing tape around all the edges, and put the pet mat over the top of that. They worked great. The pet palace crew at Frankfurt added their own pet pad. The material was what I’d call a “pigmat”. This is a highly absorbent material we used to use any time we had a fuel leak on an aircraft on the flight line. Also used for soaking up oil and hydraulic fluid in an aircraft maintenance hanger or on equipment with a leak. It’s a thick Cotten like absorbent pad, comes in a box of about 10 for use of the aforementioned purpose. Neither of my 2 dogs had any accidents, but the incontinence pads I put in the kennels soaked up the water that spilled out of their drinking container. Drinking bowl and food bowl: I purchased 4 of these from pet smart (see photo) They are about $9 each. The IATA regulation says that the drinking and food bowl must be secured to the door with a screw on fastener. The ones I purchased from Petsmart have that, but they don’t stay fastened because they are plastic. I drilled two each 1/4 inch holes in each bowl and zip tied them to the kennel door. Every bowl or container I looked at would either break off from the dog or the crew loading it. So I went with zip ties. Dog food/water bowl provided with purchase of kennel: The ONE dog food and water bowl that comes with this kennel is about the size for a cat. It’s small. It doesn’t secure to the door with a screw mechanism, it snaps on the door. This would be fine for a small dog or cat, but probably would not pass the initial inspection for a dog UNLESS it was drilled thru with 1/4 inch drill bit and zip tied to the door. But you would need 2 of them. The IATA regulation requires one food and one water container. This one would likely fall off during flight. Not to mention it’s pretty shallow and has no lip around the rim, so most of the water will splash out when it’s moved even a little. You can use a water bottle style that mounts to the outside, but the IATA regulations says it has to be fillable from the outside of the kennel without having to open the door, so the provided one would only be suitable for a food container. I initially was going to use the provided container as a food dish, but my 68 lb dog has a fetish for chewing plastic and it only lasted a few days before she discovered it could come off the door and then turned it into small pieces of plastic. Provided bolts: the bolts are 10-24 size. This size is very close to a 3/16. So close that if you purchase a box of 50 or so 3/16 lock nuts from ACE or your hardware store, you can double up on the lock nuts on each bolt to satisfy the “no sharp edges” requirement of the IATA regulation. The screws/bolts provided are 10-24 carriage bolts, and are a little longer than 1 1/4 inch. Most airlines require a metal fastener to secure the kennel top and bottom, which comes from the IATA regulation. These kennels come with a plastic “nut” that satisfies the no sharp edges requirement, but not the metal fastener requirement. Zip Ties/cable ties: I flew on Lufthansa, the zip ties they had at the check in counter for Lufthansa at Dallas were huge. To large to fit in the pre drilled hole to secure the door closed to the kennel (don’t do this yourself before TSA inspects the kennel, you’ll have to have the kennel inspected by tsa prior to putting your dog inside). I brought 16 zip ties, enough to close them in and re-secure the door if I was able to let them out at Frankfurt, my connecting flight. I also brought a pair of diagonal cutters so I could cut the zip tie ends and be able to remove the zip ties (cable ties) if able at my connection at Frankfurt. The current TSA rules say you can bring hand tools in a plier configuration as long as they are less than 7 inches when assembled. Thankfully Frankfurt has a “puppy palace” team which lets them out on connections, plays with them, feeds them, adds absorbent padding, etc. I did need the diagonal pliers aka (diagonal cutters, dikes, etc.) once I picked up the dogs at the Dusseldorf baggage claim so I could let them out to go potty once more before the 2 hour shuttle ride to our final destination. Each corner needs a cable tie. The holes on these are large enough to accommodate the airlines massive HVAC sized cable ties, but that is overkill and for good reason. If your dog is an escape artist, let the airline cable tie the corners with their big ties. If your dog is generally tame and doesn’t typically dig or weasel their way out of a plastic bag, a normal size zip tie will Work. Price: I think I paid $176 per kennel on Amazon, which is pretty good compared to a pet store, however I found on the empty shelf for the exact kennels at the BX for $167. If you’re at a larger base or post, check your BX, PX, NEX, etc to see if they have them in stock or can order them, chances are you could save a few more dollars if you have time to wait. I did not have the time to wait, I needed time for my 2 fur monsters to acclimate to the new kennels quickly, which they did and they seem to love them. I have 2 kennels here in Germany, but they seem to prefer to sleep in the same one at night together. Durability: no issues with any parts failing or breaking on any leg of the trip. They are not indestructible, but they also aren’t a solid wooden table from the 20th century. A 50 lb kid could jump on them and they’d give a little, but still work. It isn’t a work bench. IATA “gotchas”: there are pictures in the IATA regulations that show needing 1 inch by 1 Inch 3mm thick welded wire mesh over holes in the kennel. I believe this pertains to homemade kennels, not this specific kennel. I did purchase the materials to cover the pre drilled air holes in the back of this kennel, but ended up not installing it because the IATA regulation says all holes must provide bite protection for handlers. The holes that are pre drilled are small enough to provide bite protection from a larger dog (provided a handler doesn’t insert their finger into the hole), so I did not install and my kennels were accepted on all legs of my journey. Check in agent: I read the IATA rules a dozen times, called Lufthansa half a dozen times to get their interp of the rules. It all came down to the agent at the desk at the time of check in, she was brand new. She didn’t know anything other than I needed to show a health certificate, she didn’t check the vaccination record, she forgot to charge me for the flight of the dogs, she forgot to print out and attach the baggage transfer stickers (aka IATA tags) to the kennels. She was very nice and clearly overwhelmed but handled it well, and I was very patient with her. The supervisor was bouncing from agent to agent checking on them and reminding them of “do this, check that” sort of stuff. Luckily the tsa agent was also chill, but she’s the one who realized the bag transfer tags weren’t on the kennel. Had she not caught that, my dogs would have probably stayed at Frankfurt when I left for dusseldorf. That’s why I believe it’s largely going to be up to the gate agent, animal inspector and tsa agent at the airport to make the call if you’re good to go or not. Also things like how busy the terminal is at the moment, # of people checking large cargo, etc. I showed up 3.5 hours early for my flight and the line was 100+ people long. They set me to the side with my 4 bags and 2 kennels and 2 dogs and I waited patiently, had a good attitude and was compliant with their requests. They did not make me change one thing or have any problems with the kennels or the dogs. No one measured the dogs, or viewed them inside the kennel to ensure size, in fact they didn’t even weigh the dogs. They just asked me what the weight was. They did weigh the empty kennels. I hope that this review helps and that your experience PCSing with a pet using one of these kennels is as smooth as mine and I wish you the best of luck in your journey.

Nice size crate for growing puppy until using a permanent larger crate.

It's perfect for our 8 lb miniature poodle. It has the proper height so she can stand up and walk around. Other brands are too short. Easy to put together and light, but sturdy.

Three days ago we took The Big Retirement Move from Texas to the UK. This moved was carefully planned for years and was almost scuppered by this kennel. If you have never taken a pet to the UK you can't possibly know how difficult and expensive it is. It's a months long process of meticulous paperwork and timing for shots and worm treatment that involves finding a USDA certified pet, getting a USDA pet export license, filing reams of paperwork with the airlines and not the lease, reams and reams of paperwork with the UK gov't. The total cost was $975 on Virgin Atlantic, £350 to UK animal control, about $100 to the USDA in fees and travel and about $200 in vet bills to fill out paperwork. All of the paperwork and vet treatments are on a very tight timeline and if you mess up in any way your dog will be in quarantine in the UK for six months. Not easy, not cheap and very stressful. UK rules say the dog, no matter how small, must be in the hold in a pet carrier, so we bought this one from Amazon thinking it was the sturdiest and most well made we could find. We planned our trip to make it as easy on our Pomeranian Yoshi as possible and booked a Delta flight from Central Texas to Boston were Yoshi could stay in the cabin with use, spent the night in Boston (the pet-friendly Hilton at Boston-Logan) and took Virgin Atlantic to London Heathrow. The carrier was sent as part of our luggage and made it fine on the Texas to Boston leg. As we were leaving the hotel and pushing our luggage, Yoshi and the carrier to the airport (we walked from the hotel to the international terminal, which are connected by a walkway/skybridge) the carrier fell off the trolley and SHATTERED like a cheap beer bottle!! It didn't fall two feet off a slow moving luggage trolley onto carpet and was totally empty and yet it broke apart through the plastic (not the hinges or the fastenings), literally shattering into pieces. I can't tell you how upsetting this was. There we were, hours away from boarding our plane and literally on the way to the VA Air cargo place to deliver our dog for transport, and now we had no carrier. We called around to local PetsMart, but the nearest we could find a carrier was in Cambridge, Mass, an hour away by cab. If we didn't find a carrier we'd miss our plane and we would be out thousands of dollars because we'd be stuck in Boston in a $400/night hotel and forced to look for a USDA vet that could redo Yoshi's shots and paperwork. Not only were we upset about this disaster, we were upset that our beloved dog would have been inside when it broke apart during transfer from the ground to the plane during loading. People wonder how dogs escape out of planes during loading and run around airport runways, and now I know. We ran around Logan looking for duct tape to repair the carrier in the (vain) hope we could fix it. A lovely TSA man helped us out with some tape, and we took the carrier to the VA Cargo office to see what they said, even though they told us on the phone that ANY duct tape was not allowed. On the way to the office, as we crossed the parking lot, I saw an abandoned carrier on the side of the road where someone had imported a dog and left the carrier by a trash can. It was beat up and was a cheaper carrier, but intact and workable and we stripped off the stickers and bills of lading and used that one. We were very, very lucky. So, after tears, heart attacks and a horrible trip on the plane worrying about Yoshi in the hold, we made it home safe and sound, but no thanks to Petmate Sky Kennel

This was the only kennel I found that came closest to airline requirements. It is approved by the USDA and IATA. We were on a military move from the states so this a review on the international kennel features and requirements only. Kennel Features: This kennel has 11 plastic bolt holes- This is the only requirement that this kennel does not follow. It came with plastic nuts. Metal nuts and bolts are required now for every flight. This carrier has 11 bolt holes plus an additional 4 tie down holes. My airline specifically said that every hole must have a bolt. So we needed 15 metal nuts and screws for the carrier. Some airlines let you leave the 4 tie down holes empty but check to be sure and order the bolts ahead of time to get the right amount. We dind't do this and had to buy 3 kits because of shipping time limits. Metal bolts on amazon did not have prime option. But these are what you need Pet Carrier Metal Fasteners Nuts Bolts (1-1/4" Medium Bolts, 16 Pack) 16 pack will ensure a better safe than sorry amount. Has Pre drilled zip tie holes- Hard to find kennels with this already done. It is a requirement to zip tie the kennel doors shut. Quick release are best. Helping Hand Assorted Quick Release Nylon Cable Ties, 8-inch Make sure you insist on zip tying your dogs yourself! I watched the security guy do it wrong and had to redo do it myself. So glad I got the quick release. Same thing happened to a friend only they didn't catch that the attendant only thread it though the hole and not the door. Their dog got loose in the belly of the plane after ripping off the door. This brings me to the next feature. Has single piece metal door- Be sure to follow this guideline, a metal single piece door. No plastic allowed! Some larger kennel doors have a fold in the middle of the door to make packing easier. Some airlines don't specify the type of door needed and some forbid the fold. It gives the dog the ability to pull the door in which will then collapse and allows for escape. This kennel door is a solid one piece. Has protruding bar/side handles- This follows the requirement of "a spacer rim protruding at least 3/4 on all sides with ventilation openings"This is so the airline can carry and move the kennel without using the handle (known to fail on some kennels) and prevent a dog from being able to bite or contact movers hands. This kennel states that the rim is designed to work as side handles. Has 4 sides of air holes- Requirement is air holes must be "on all four sides at least halfway on each side". This kennel has it and even better metal grates! I had a friend whose dog chewed the space between the plastic holes during flight. Some kennels show in the picture that they have air holes in the back but come to find after ordering they didn't have the air holes on the backside in the smaller sizes. Especially for cat carriers. Note- Domestic flights only requires 2 vent sides but they stack and pack kennels like baggage and airflow will be restricted. Go with ventilation on all sides. Food Dishes- These were actually deep enough to be functional. Kennels with dishes attached inside on the walls are not allowed. Airlines must be able to "access dishes attached to door without opening the kennel door" they do this through funnels. On my main international flight with 2 layovers and a total of 20 hours travel they did not feed or water my dogs once. Even though it's the law. My advice freeze water ahead of flight so it doesn't make a mess or even better get a lixit water bottle to ensure your dogs don't dehydrate. We got Lixit Small Dog Water Bottle 16-Ounce Stickers- This kennel came with stickers and that is a requirement but airlines have them and will use their own as well. The stickers included are crap and leave an awful residue. The airlines put the sticker packet of paper work over the " "Live Animal" in 1-inch letters on the crate's top" required sticker. Upon removal of that it lifted the sticker below mucking up the brand new kennels. My advice, bring the stickers and apply at check in where they are needed once the paperwork covers the entire top of kennel and use airline stickers if possible. Note for size- The length requirement for international travel is [their length + half their leg] so there must be ample room in front and back. This made us need the larger kennel which is much larger than our previous kennel. Some will say that the rule of thumb is as long as they can turn around it's okay. But that is the length rule for IATA. Height for IATA includes ears and ears cannot touch top of kennel while standing. Again, why we had to go up a size (dang chihuahuas). After traveling with my pets on over 6 different flights I can say that most airline attendants are clueless about the pet requirements needed. I had one tell me they don't even receive training on the requirements and offered to let both dogs go into one kennel (a international no no). But I did have had one who knew their stuff and used a tape measure. So better safe than sorry! Traveling with your pet no matter how far is stress full. With international flights being long dogs get anxious and try to escape, sometimes successfully in cheep kennels. So get this one! Airlines have different requirements and regulations. It's better to buy new then to try to modify existing kennels. Save yourself the time! Get this kennel and you only need to purchase zip ties (hand release are best), metal bolts, and some puppy pads. I realize this is much more info than necessary for a review but I know how hard it was getting this information. Please check this as helpful so that it may help others in the complicated kennel requirement process. Safe Travels!