Shipping a cat?

ctypist · Sep 8, 2008

I've had my kitty Brian up on Craigslist for about a week now, and just listed her on petfinder a couple of days ago, thanks to a tip from CC12

Anyways..
I've gotten three e-mails about her so far, but they're all...strange. I don't trust them. All of them are from across the country and they say they'll pay me with a e-certified American check and they all want my address and name and phone number and such...one says they'll send a check to their trustee in this state, who'll give the check to me...another says they have a trusted shipping company that will come get her and ship her to them after I have recieved their payments...

I just don't know...I don't want to send her to someone random clear across the country. I figured they'd want some more information on her, perhaps come and see her first...maybe that's not how it works anymore *shrugs*

I got one from a lady in Texas that sounds pretty normal and believable, but still, same problem. I have to ship my cat to some random person in another state. I really don't think she'd do well with that kind of stress, she's pretty skittish...

What do you guys think?

katkat · Sep 8, 2008

I don't know how all cats do on trips, but I know mine hates them. also, I'm not certain, but I believe to ship a cat on an airplane, or any kind of long distance carrier, you'll have to drug her so she'll sleep through the trip. this makes me think the trip can't be too long. This is just something I heard from a friend, I've never tried doing this myself. I think the best thing to do for Brian would be to find someone local, so you can personally introduce them. otherwise, poor Brian would be drugged and then wake up in a completely strange place. She will be so scared!

It's too bad. I used to live in Seattle, but have since moved down to Los Angeles. Otherwise I could have asked around my friends to see who wants a cat.

I hope you can do what's best for sweet Brian. Best of luck!

KatKat

yosemite · Sep 8, 2008

Originally Posted by KatKat

I don't know how all cats do on trips, but I know mine hates them. also, I'm not certain, but I believe to ship a cat on an airplane, or any kind of long distance carrier, you'll have to drug her so she'll sleep through the trip. this makes me think the trip can't be too long. This is just something I heard from a friend, I've never tried doing this myself. I think the best thing to do for Brian would be to find someone local, so you can personally introduce them. otherwise, poor Brian would be drugged and then wake up in a completely strange place. She will be so scared!

It's too bad. I used to live in Seattle, but have since moved down to Los Angeles. Otherwise I could have asked around my friends to see who wants a cat.

I hope you can do what's best for sweet Brian. Best of luck!

KatKat

No, you do not drug cats to ship them, in fact, most vets would recommend you NOT drug them. Some cats react very poorly to drugs and could actually freak out more with drugs than without.

Shipping by air will vary according to the carrier. The best way to get correct information is telephone the various air carriers and get the information right from the horse's mouth so-to-speak. Several of us on here have shipped cats via air and would probably agree that it's best to call the carrier because from time to time they do change their rules.

I shipped a kitten to California from Toronto on Air Canada and they were wonderful with me and the kitten. Since I personally was not taking the flight the kitten went via cargo (a special area for live animals) and she was just fine.

As for shipping a cat to someone I did not know or never met, I personally would not do it, especially if you need to give them personal information about yourself.

opilot · Sep 8, 2008

Beware! This is a scam to get your info, and possible defraud you
of money. Please do NOT entertain these offers!

Also long distance shipping unless you know the person
you are shipping to is a no no for cats. Driving distances
or trips only.

I would encourage you to check out other shelter
options for sweet Brian.

I currently have a full house and don't live near you,
but I would offer to take her if I were near.

she CAN place in a home, but needs time to do it,
and that can best be had if you can find a TEMP.
FOSTER home.

someone who will keep her while you keep looking
for a home, and/or in a rescue that will foster
.....

The last resort is the shelter, and often they
put the animals down so this is a last resort
and only for the friendliest of cats.

goldenkitty45 · Sep 8, 2008

Those type of emails you got are span/fraud emails - do NOT respond to them. You are right to be cautious on it. Glad you questioned it before you put the cat on a plane to who knows where. And you won't get any money from them either - its a scam!

ctypist · Sep 8, 2008

Well I did reply to them, but all I said was that she's not good with litterboxes and asked if they still want her...a couple wrote back and said they did, but I'm just going to tell them I'm not comfortable with shipping her.

cc12 · Sep 9, 2008

Originally Posted by CTypist

Well I did reply to them, but all I said was that she's not good with litterboxes and asked if they still want her...a couple wrote back and said they did, but I'm just going to tell them I'm not comfortable with shipping her.

I don't blame you. Any time I have advertised something I always get a few scammers. Unfortunately that is what con artists do. They look for cons. They may send one to everyone they can on petfinder hoping to find one that will fall for it. Don't give up though.
It is so apparent that you care about Brian. We are here to help so don't hesitate.

For a normal person. Maybe you should say in your ad that you prefer not to ship just to rid yourself of these people.

ctypist · Sep 9, 2008

Yeah, I deleted that ad...I might put another one up in a couple days that says local inquiries only, maybe that'll help...
But, if I can fix this litterbox problem, maybe I can convince the boyfriend to let me keep her....I'll keep my fingers crossed.

catsknowme · Sep 9, 2008

Sending prayers and vibes out to Brian and you
If those folks are legit, they will give you references, including vet references. Perhaps they would be willing to work with a local breeder as a go-between. You could check with their local county tax assessor to see if they indeed are homeowners, things like that. And if it works out, and you ship Brian via airline, you can follow her flight for free at www.flytecomm.com - it will tell you everything about her flight, when she' s in the air, at what speed she's traveling, her location in relation to the earth, how much longer the flight will be, etc.
Of course, the ideal would be resolve the litter box issue so that she can remain in your family

fastnoc · Sep 13, 2008

Originally Posted by CTypist

I've had my kitty Brian up on Craigslist for about a week now, and just listed her on petfinder a couple of days ago, thanks to a tip from CC12

Anyways..
I've gotten three e-mails about her so far, but they're all...strange. I don't trust them. All of them are from across the country and they say they'll pay me with a e-certified American check and they all want my address and name and phone number and such...one says they'll send a check to their trustee in this state, who'll give the check to me...another says they have a trusted shipping company that will come get her and ship her to them after I have recieved their payments...

I just don't know...I don't want to send her to someone random clear across the country. I figured they'd want some more information on her, perhaps come and see her first...maybe that's not how it works anymore *shrugs*

I got one from a lady in Texas that sounds pretty normal and believable, but still, same problem. I have to ship my cat to some random person in another state. I really don't think she'd do well with that kind of stress, she's pretty skittish...

What do you guys think?

I have no idea why they would do this for cats but this is a scam.

They will tell you they'll pay, in fact usually it's more than you ask, ask for nothing more than name/phone/address then tell you you'll get a certified check, or money order from a courier. Soon after you'll get an email that looks like it's from the USPS but it isn't (if you know how to read email headers you'll find they're sent from free email sites like outblaze).

What they do is tell people they're buying for someone else, and want you to ship to their friend, brother wife etc to a different location.

Don't even bother.

I thought these things were slowed down, but I went to sell a laptop on craig's list and within 1 hour of posting got 3 of these type responses. Just to see how far they'd go I responded and got the fake courrier email etc.

It's a shame really but why they heck would they do this for cats???

fastnoc · Sep 13, 2008

Originally Posted by Yosemite

No, you do not drug cats to ship them, in fact, most vets would recommend you NOT drug them. Some cats react very poorly to drugs and could actually freak out more with drugs than without.

Shipping by air will vary according to the carrier. The best way to get correct information is telephone the various air carriers and get the information right from the horse's mouth so-to-speak. Several of us on here have shipped cats via air and would probably agree that it's best to call the carrier because from time to time they do change their rules.

I shipped a kitten to California from Toronto on Air Canada and they were wonderful with me and the kitten. Since I personally was not taking the flight the kitten went via cargo (a special area for live animals) and she was just fine.

As for shipping a cat to someone I did not know or never met, I personally would not do it, especially if you need to give them personal information about yourself.

Wow this is good info. I didn't know you shouldn't drug them.

Sometimes I feel pretty lucky to read this forum and learn all of these things.

Thank you

cc12 · Sep 14, 2008

I use Prozac on Seldon to make him stop spraying.
Cat Attract litter can help with luring them to the box. First make sure there is no medical issues here that are contributing to her problem.

Shipping a cat?

ctypist

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katkat

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yosemite

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opilot

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goldenkitty45

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ctypist

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cc12

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ctypist

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catsknowme

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fastnoc

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fastnoc

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cc12

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