I carry cats and kittens in the cabin, in a soft carrier under the seat in front of me, from Portland to anywhere in the country. I hand them to you in person when we land. I also drive cats to and from the airport if that's the part you need.
Your breeder gave you my name, or you found me yourself. You've probably never shipped an animal and you'd rather not start now.
You've got a kitten going to a family three states away and you'd rather not hand it to a stranger from a marketplace app.
I buy a seat on a named flight when you book, and I pay the airline's pet fee both directions so there's a cabin space held for the return too. No sitting at the gate hoping something opens up.
I don't carry dogs and I won't take a job that puts one in the carrier next to yours. If I ever combine two trips it's two cats, and I'll tell you before I do it.
Never the hold, never checked, never handed off to another airline. If a cat can't ride under the seat in front of me, I'll tell you that before you've paid anything.
I've got a Ragdoll cattery, so this started with my own litters heading out to families. I know what a twelve-week-old does at hour three of a travel day, and I know what it feels like to hand one over to somebody else.
I carry cats and nothing else. Every carrier I own is sized for a cat, and every airline rule I've had to learn is a cat rule.
Where it's going, roughly when, how many cats and what they weigh. I check cabin pet space, which is capped per flight and fills up early, and come back with dates that actually work and a price for each.
Seventy percent up front, which is what pays for the airfare I'm about to buy, and the balance the day before we fly. Zelle, Venmo, or an invoice. Card works too and adds three percent.
Between the breeder and the buyer. Send whatever you've got with the cat and I'll make sure it arrives with her.
The cat comes to me at PDX, or I collect for an added fee. Then the carrier goes under the seat in front of me. I book a window seat, skip the bulkhead, and keep connections at zero wherever the route allows it. You'll hear from me along the way, whenever there's something worth telling you.
I meet you past security or at baggage claim, check ID against the name on the booking, and hand the cat to nobody else. If you'd rather I brought her to your door, say so early and I'll price it in.
$600 to $2,000 All in, per flight. That's the airfare, the airline's cabin fee, and my time. Where you land in that range depends on how far the route is and how long the day takes.
One flat price for every city either overcharges the short hops or quietly eats the long ones. So I quote each route on its own and show you what's in it. There's no percentage buried in the middle.
Plenty of people can manage the flying and get stuck on the driving. A cat landing at PDX while you're at work. A cattery three hours from the airport.
I do that on its own, no flight attached. Priced by distance and time, and I'll quote any distance.
Nothing here is unusual. The one thing to get right early is timing, because where a health certificate is required the window is usually ten days, and that's tighter than people plan for.
Most flights land between $600 and $2,000, all in. That covers the airfare, the airline's cabin fee and my time, and where you land in the range depends on the distance and how long the day runs. A short hop down the coast is nothing like a cross-country day with a connection. Send me the city and I'll give you an actual number.
Usually the buyer. Most breeder contracts make transport the buyer's cost, so the breeder passes you my details and you and I plan it from there. Some breeders arrange and pay for it themselves. Either way it's 70% to book and the balance the day before.
Both. Retired queens going to pet homes, cats moving cross-country with a family. The only hard limit is size: the cat and carrier together need to come in around twenty pounds to ride under the seat, and a large adult male can fail that. Send me a weight before we plan anything.
Never a dog. If I ever put two jobs on one flight it's two cats, and you'll know before I do it. Most trips are one cat, or littermates going to the same place.
Weather and mechanical cancellations get rebooked on the next flight with cabin space, and the cat stays with me the whole time. I carry pads, food and water for exactly this. If a cancellation happens before we've left Portland, the cat goes back to whoever handed it to me that morning.
Then we move the date. It usually surfaces days ahead, before I'm anywhere near the cat, so the breeder calls and we reschedule. Your deposit rolls to the new flight, it isn't lost. If the airline won't credit the fare, that cost sits with the breeder rather than with you.
Call me and I'll wait. The first half hour is free, after that it's $50 per half hour, because I'm usually turning around on a flight of my own. If nobody reaches me at all, I get back on the plane with your cat rather than leave it with a stranger, and we sort out getting it to you afterward.
The 70% is spent by then, on tickets I've already bought, so I can't return it. If I'm the one who cancels you get everything back, and since I never take the cat until we're at the airport, nothing is stranded anywhere.
Just Portland International. I'm in Vancouver, Washington, so collecting anywhere in Clark County or the Portland metro is easy. Drives over about twenty minutes beyond the airport get priced in. I don't fly out of Seattle. The drive adds hours to both ends of an already long day.
Ask me. International adds import permits, whatever the destination country requires, and often a rabies titer with a waiting period measured in months. It's a different job from a domestic hop and it needs planning well ahead. I'll tell you straight whether your timeline works.
Ask me directly and I'll send you documentation before you commit to anything.
I answer every request myself, usually the same day. If the route or the timing doesn't work, I'll say so.