The invention features an animal carrier that is designed to more easily place an animal (e.g., a cat or dog) into the carrier. The carrier features a funnel that can be attached to the body of the carrier, that is sized to permit passage of the animal through the funnel, that is oriented to convey the animal by gravity into the carrier, and that can be removed once the animal has been delivered into the carrier. The invention also features a retrofit funnel that is adapted to be securely attached to an opening of a standard animal carrier.