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Danny's Cats

Who we cite

Center for Pet Safety

Also called CPS, CPS Certified

Updated

What is the Center for Pet Safety?

The Center for Pet Safety is a US nonprofit, founded in 2011, that develops crash-test standards for pet travel products and runs a certification program for carriers, crates and harnesses. Our carrier guide uses its certified list to say which carriers have passed its car crash testing.

What does the Center for Pet Safety do?

The Center for Pet Safety describes itself as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit safety science and consumer advocacy organization. It was founded in 2011 by Lindsey Wolko and says it works through research, testing and education on pet products and travel conditions.

Its work includes writing safety standards and test protocols for pet travel products, investigating product complaints from owners, and running awareness campaigns about restraining pets in cars. It says it does not use live animals in testing.

What does Center for Pet Safety certified mean?

Center for Pet Safety certified means a maker has entered a product in the group's certification program for its category. The Center for Pet Safety says taking part is a voluntary commitment by the maker to meet independently developed safety standards, monitor product quality control and be truthful in its marketing.

The certified list is published on its site and is split into harnesses, pet travel carriers and travel crates. It is short. When we checked it in November 2026, the cat carriers on it included the Sleepypod Air, Atom and Mobile Pet Bed, and a backpack carrier from PawsInCar.

Why do our pages cite the Center for Pet Safety?

Our cat carrier guide cites it because car safety is one of the few carrier claims a reader cannot judge from a photo. Many listings say a carrier is crash tested without saying by whom or to what standard; the certified list gives a single public place to check.

The 2025 position statement on transporting cats from the Feline Veterinary Medical Association (formerly the AAFP) points to the same list. It says carriers belong on the floor behind a front seat, and that a seat belt should only be used with a carrier that is crash-test certified, pointing readers to the Center for Pet Safety's certified products.

How should you read a crash certification?

A crash certification tells you a carrier passed one standardised test, not that it suits your cat. Size, openings and how easy the carrier is to clean still matter, and a certified carrier only protects a cat when it is used and fastened the way its maker describes. Carriers that are not certified should ride on the vehicle floor rather than be belted in.

Questions about Center for Pet Safety

Does the Center for Pet Safety endorse products?

The Center for Pet Safety says it does not endorse products and is not affiliated with the pet products industry. A certification is the maker's voluntary commitment to its standards. Our citing it does not mean it endorses Danny's Cats or any page here.

Who pays for the Center for Pet Safety?

The Center for Pet Safety says it does not accept funding from pet product manufacturers. Its own site names partners and sponsors from outside the pet industry, such as carmakers and foundations.

Should every cat carrier be crash certified?

A crash-certified carrier matters most if you want to belt the carrier into a seat. The Feline Veterinary Medical Association's 2025 position statement says to use a seat belt only with a certified carrier, and that others go on the floor behind a front seat, so an uncertified carrier is still usable that way.

Where this comes up

Sources