Black Thai Cattery
Delivery, Shipping & Airlines
Deliveries: ~$500 to $700
We have been doing a lot of kitten deliveries via the cabin of the airplane for the last few years. In fact, since Covid, I and one of two daughters have exclusively traveled with kittens as "carry-on" in the cabin of the airplane. If the travel plans can be locked in and booked a month or two ahead of time, the costs are marginally more and comparable to pet cargo shipping and the travel stress for the kittens is virtually eliminated. This is especially true if we can coordinate doing multiple dropoffs for a couple of clients on one travel day. We go out of our way to try to make it happen. Another added benefit to delivery is that since we are traveling with the kittens in hand, the flights do not have to be direct ones. This opens up travel to almost any major city (SWA routes) within the continental United States.
Come and get them!:
You are most welcome to come to pick up your kittens from us directly. We can pick you up and drop you off at the Oakland Airport. It is about 15 to 20 minutes away from us without traffic. Note, when you factor in your expenses, travel time and the hassle factor, in most cases, the costs are equal to, if not exceeding, what we can do it for.
Shipping: ~$450
ONLY ship kittens in pairs, two kittens together, and ONLY on direct flights out of Oakland or San Francisco. There are a lot of additional steps involved to make this happen. The kittens may be sent air freight in the pet cargo section of the plane which is climate controlled. Note that there are several additional expenses incurred in order to go this route. The airline pet cargo fee is around $275 (tax included) for up to 10 lbs., there is a required Heath Certificate ($25+) which in turn involves a licensed Veterinarian that will be required to do a physical exam of each kitten (~$75+) and an airline approved pet carrier (~$75) must be purchased. Additionally, there is the extra time and effort required to complete these tasks and take the kittens to the airport. I don't specifically add anything for my time and travel.
Airlines (pet cargo):
We have not shipped any kittens in the last three years. And, with the way the airline's (United) personnel seems to be so indifferent as to the treatment of this "cargo" I really don't want to anyway. There are also several logistical issues and processes to follow that extend the travel time. It all seems that flights times, schedules, and arrivals have become much less predictable.
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