How to get a cat from VA to NY
April 7, 2007 8:31 AM   Subscribe

My friend lives in Northern Virginia. She wants to give me her cat. I live in NYC. Is there some sort of pet traveling service that will get her cat to me?
posted by missed to Pets & Animals (11 answers total)
 
You can try uShip. I haven't sent any animals through it, but I've had great success with other stuff. There's an entire "pets & livestock" section for listings.
posted by phoenixy at 8:43 AM on April 7, 2007


Recently I've been reading about pet transport networks, but that seems to be done by volunteers for rescue networks. Maybe the extant volunteers in some network would do it for you for a donation to one of the rescue groups, though. It seems like an everybody wins situation as compared to going with a commercial organization, though I suppose there would be liability issues.
posted by needs more cowbell at 9:30 AM on April 7, 2007


Whoops, some of the links on that page are expired. You could check out http://www.acmepettransport.com/ or http://beardie.net/bone/rescue_links.html for some more current ones.
posted by needs more cowbell at 9:33 AM on April 7, 2007


Just a thought - folks travel by train between NoVA and NYC on a very regular basis. You might consider a craigslist or common-friend arrangement and a pet carrier.

For that matter, a train ticket is in the $100-180 range (cheaper when Amtrak has a special). If the transportation costs for a pet service are comparable, you or your friend might consider a visit and minimize the unknowns.
posted by abulafa at 9:37 AM on April 7, 2007


Air cargo? Washington, D.C. to NYC is literally 3 hours total transit time, air cargo counter to air cargo counter. It's literally not enough time for the animal to be so severly stressed as to be health affecting.
posted by paulsc at 10:04 AM on April 7, 2007


I have had experience with a much longer route: repeated moves from WV to Oregon & back. The key is to keep the travel time as short as possible - cats will not get used to travelling after a while. Driving for 5 days? Not good. Flying? Much better. Flying cargo? Best. My cat seemed to come out of cargo much less stressed even than flying in the cabin. It could be something to do with the lack of stimulus in cargo - no people moving about, etc.

paulsc has it: Flying cargo is probably your best bet - use a reputable air cargo service (I used United) and make sure you get a very early flight, since it's least likely to be delayed.

Warning: most airlines will not allow you to ship animals during the summer because of the heat. The cargo holds are climate-controlled but you don't want your new baby sitting on the hot tarmac. Probably not best to ship during snow either - not because of the temperature but because of delays.

Oh - and congratulations on your new companion!
posted by media_itoku at 11:17 AM on April 7, 2007


When we got our Dog we shipped it from the Midwest to Seattle via American Airlines. It was about $180 for the carrier + the freight charges. AA has heated compartments for pets, so they'll be fine (just a little freaked from the noise). It was a four hour flight. As soon as we got our dog (a Jack Russle) out and in the car she was fine.

So, I suggest just paying the airlines. They do it all the time. Some let cats ride under the seat in a carrier as part of carry-on luggage. Varies by airline. Check out their websites.
posted by jeffamaphone at 6:13 PM on April 7, 2007


cats will not get used to travelling after a while. Driving for 5 days? Not good.

I found this to be wholly untrue. I moved cross-country from Raleigh, NC to the Bay Area, CA. I drove a large moving truck towing my car the whole way, with my cat in the cab with me. She was absolutely fine. I forgot about her most of the time, she found a spot behind the passenger seat and just slept there the whole way (approximately 5 days of constant driving.) There was no whining or complaining after the first hour or two.

I say save yourself a ton of money and just put the thing in the car and drive.
posted by Rhomboid at 6:42 PM on April 7, 2007


you could probably get away with putting the cat in a crate and taking it to nyc on the chinatown busses. will cost you 35 dollars round trip and about 8-10 hours total travel time.
posted by kneelconqueso at 9:33 AM on April 8, 2007


Truly, depending on when you and your friend are looking for the cat to make the move, my wife and I might be able to drive him or her up to you -- we live in DC, and make the drive to NYC on a semi-regular basis (once every month or two). My email address is in my profile, feel free to drop me a line!
posted by delfuego at 5:32 PM on April 8, 2007


If you decide to use a car/bus/train/passenger flight, have your friend go to the vet first -- they can hook her up with some tranquilizers to make the whole thing much easier (on both her and the cat).
posted by vorfeed at 11:20 PM on April 8, 2007


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