Vet waiting rooms are where a carrier really gets tested. Twenty minutes in a hard plastic box with a dog barking two chairs away is a long time for a cat, and there is nothing they can do about it. An expanding side changes that. The carrier goes through the door at normal width, then opens out once you are sitting down, so the cat can turn round, lie flat and stop bracing.

The sides are fabric over a frame rather than rigid plastic, with mesh panels for airflow and for a view out, and a wide zip opens the front so a reluctant cat can be lowered in from above rather than posted through a small hatch, which is the manoeuvre that turns a routine trip into a fight. It folds flat between journeys, weighs 1.2kg empty and comes in four colours.

• Expanding side panel for extra room when stationary
• Mesh panels for airflow and visibility
• Wide zip-open front for easier loading
• Folds flat for storage between trips
• Four colours: red, black, khaki and grey
• Weighs 1.2kg, package size 36 x 26 x 43cm

Two things worth knowing. And a soft-sided carrier is not a restraint in a car: it should sit in a footwell or be belted through the handles, never left loose on a seat.

Who it's for: Owners of a cat or small dog facing waiting rooms and longer journeys, who want something that opens out and then folds away at home.