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Please Share Your Shipping Experiences

MissMySphynxBoys

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There is no substitute for visiting a breeder in person (not to mention the added stress of shipping a baby alone to his new home) but sometimes shipping is the only option.

When we shipped our boys across the country from coast to coast back in the early 90s, we had fabulous experiences. Continental was wonderful and the boys were treated like the celebrities that they were.

I am still working on my husband (I keep hearing Mug-y's Mom saying "slowly slowly catchy monkey) but there is no harm in gathering information, right?

For those of you with shipping experience (breeder or buyer) would you please share your stories, good and bad, I would love to hear them. Thanks.
 

Sleepyheadkitten

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I have never had a bad experience with both shipping to and from... The worse issue I had was with a Frenchie- and that was the breeder's fault. She gave me the wrong time for pick-up and when I showed up and gave them the information, they were like, "No puppy here for you!" (I thought I'd been scammed! And of course, had forgotten my cell phone that day- it was such a mess!). Alls well that ends well though- I just went home, called the breeder, and drove back down there 30 minutes later.

I have heard of animals missing their layovers and ending up staying the night places- in this situation, they are boarded for the night. That does make me nervous, but that's why you are required to send food when you ship- just in case.

And I know someone has mentioned animals dying during shipping- and I have no doubt it does happen, but I still maintain- why haven't I heard of this from reputable breeders? I really think the animals that end up passing away are ones that shouldn't be shipped in the first place- and probably shouldn't have left home yet (ie large puppymills will fake dates of births and ship out 6 week old babies instead of 8 week olds *which is still too young* and it wouldn't surprise me if babies of that young age couldn't handle a long flight).
 

Mews2much

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MissMySphynxBoys

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I have never had a bad experience with both shipping to and from... The worse issue I had was with a Frenchie- and that was the breeder's fault. She gave me the wrong time for pick-up and when I showed up and gave them the information, they were like, "No puppy here for you!" (I thought I'd been scammed! And of course, had forgotten my cell phone that day- it was such a mess!). Alls well that ends well though- I just went home, called the breeder, and drove back down there 30 minutes later.

I have heard of animals missing their layovers and ending up staying the night places- in this situation, they are boarded for the night. That does make me nervous, but that's why you are required to send food when you ship- just in case.

And I know someone has mentioned animals dying during shipping- and I have no doubt it does happen, but I still maintain- why haven't I heard of this from reputable breeders? I really think the animals that end up passing away are ones that shouldn't be shipped in the first place- and probably shouldn't have left home yet (ie large puppymills will fake dates of births and ship out 6 week old babies instead of 8 week olds *which is still too young* and it wouldn't surprise me if babies of that young age couldn't handle a long flight).

Thank you so much Birthday Suit.
I'm taking notes...
Remember cell phone and contact information...confirm flight info given by breeder with airline....avoid layovers if possible.
 

MissMySphynxBoys

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Cleo and Polar Bare came from North Carolina to California with no problem but Wrinkles was lost.
Wrinkles was shipped from San Diego but she had to go through Houston to Sacramento.
Here is my post on what happened.
http://www.sphynxlair.com/f4/contin...-sheltie-puppy-then-found-them-2-5-hours-771/

I would have another cat shipped in the future even though Wrinkles was lost.

Yikes! Thanks so much mews2much. So glad Wrinkels and the puppy were found safely. It sounds like its best to avoid layovers when at all possible.
 

Mews2much

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All my cats came through Texas.
Wrinkles breeder only uses Delta now.
Polar Bare came on American with a stop in Dallas and everything was great.
This was 2 months ago.
Cleo came on Continental through Houston and everything was fine.
Her breeder called the shipping off twice because it was to cold.
Like Trish said take the flight info with you to the airport.
I track the flights before we leave and the breeders email when the kittens are dropped off.
I would not worry even though Wrinkles was lost.
My husband used to work for a airline and he can tell you the bad side of shipping.
Remember there are many pets shipped everyday and most end up fine.
I would use a good breeder and not worry about the shipping.
I almost made a mistake before I got Cleo because I was only looking for kittens from places within 4 hours from here.


 

Sleepyheadkitten

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Depending upon where you live, sometimes you can't avoid the layovers. I only use Continental for the most part because they use air conditioned/heated vehicles whenever the animals would be on the tarmac (ie during layovers)- so you can ship anytime of the year and they do good. My scariest shipping was up to ALASKA! I was so nervous to ship that baby girl- I actually called the Alaska cargo office and talked to them and they reassured me that they meet the plane as its landing and get the animals straight into the van which is pre-heated. Everything went fine, but I was sweating it! LOL!

But anyways, sometimes, it's impossible to avoid layovers. Like if I'm shipping to Phoenix, which is 6 hours drive from here- the kitten has to fly to Texas and then up to Phoenix usually- which totally annoys me! I TRY to talk people into driving- we are in a perfect tourist trap town that everyone knows- and I try to convince them that they should come up here, stay the weekend and then take their baby home with them. Sometimes, it works ;)
 

Melonie

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The thing I regret about having Jack shipped was I never got to see her cattery and I ended up with one sick kitty. She seemed like a good breeder but not, so I do not think I would ever have an animal shipped unless I saw the place they came from or personally knew someone who got an animal from them. She seemed like a great breeder. WRONG.
 

Sleepyheadkitten

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Point blank- it IS scary for a newcomer to this breed to purchase a cat, sight unseen. And Sphynxes aren't EVERYWHERE and a lot of people can't pack up, fly out to meet a breeder just to decide whether or not to bring a kitten home.

Research, talk to people, research some more... I will tell you- one cat, I thought I had researched the breeder, I talked to people that had bought from that breeder, etc, etc, and I still ended up tossing too much money down a hole that I couldn't afford!

My personal experiences with certain breeders is why I've strived very hard to be honest, willing to learn, and supportive of ANY new Sphynx owners- I don't care if the kitten came from me, the shelter, or another breeder (or if you found it on the street!).

It's late, I'm rambling, but I guess I just want to say- we've all been in those uncertain shoes of trying to decide, "Is this the breeder for me?" I would say- if your gut ever tells you to run, CLOSE your wallet, and RUN. It's so hard sometimes to follow that advice, but you will much happier in the long run...
 

MissMySphynxBoys

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The thing I regret about having Jack shipped was I never got to see her cattery and I ended up with one sick kitty. She seemed like a good breeder but not, so I do not think I would ever have an animal shipped unless I saw the place they came from or personally knew someone who got an animal from them. She seemed like a great breeder. WRONG.

I think some of the best things I have learned from this site have come from members like you who have shared their experiences. It encourages me to go slow and do my research.
 

MissMySphynxBoys

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Can't thank you both enough, mews2much and Birthday Suit for your priceless advice in all of your posts. When the time comes, I feel really good to know that I can run things by you both. :BigSmile:
 

Melonie

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I wish I would have found this site before I got a cat. I LOVE Jack but let me tell you I have spent THOUSANDS trying to make him better. The breeder could care less as she wants me to take him to HER vet. The one who neutered him and didn't "know" he had a heart murmur. I listened to it there is NO way you wouldn't have heard it. Her vet is about a 14 hour drive from me so um no. Plus I don't want a new kitty from her anyways. She is still breeding his father, but his mother she retired right after I complained to her. She seemed reputable. Her website seems like she knows the breed. I don't know. I just am super leary. My other two I saw where they came from and I took them to the vet the same day and had their hearts listened to. Paranoia? I don't know. Not to mention the URI. If I would have gone to her cattery there is no way she could have hid this sort of thing from someone. I don't know rambling now.
 

MissMySphynxBoys

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I wish I would have found this site before I got a cat. I LOVE Jack but let me tell you I have spent THOUSANDS trying to make him better. The breeder could care less as she wants me to take him to HER vet. The one who neutered him and didn't "know" he had a heart murmur. I listened to it there is NO way you wouldn't have heard it. Her vet is about a 14 hour drive from me so um no. Plus I don't want a new kitty from her anyways. She is still breeding his father, but his mother she retired right after I complained to her. She seemed reputable. Her website seems like she knows the breed. I don't know. I just am super leary. My other two I saw where they came from and I took them to the vet the same day and had their hearts listened to. Paranoia? I don't know. Not to mention the URI. If I would have gone to her cattery there is no way she could have hid this sort of thing from someone. I don't know rambling now.

I know how you feel. We had a similar experience with the retired yellow lab we adopted from a breeder 4 years ago. The website listed all the right things and our phone calls went well so we drove 2 1/2 hours to meet her. A few red flags went up during our visit but I ignored them thinking this tired momma just needed some TLC. It wasn't until we got her home that we discovered that the poor girl had a variety of skin issues that to this day we struggle to keep managed. Our vet contacted the vet we found listed on some paperwork and we found that although the dog had gotten all her shots at one time she was not up to date on them and they hadn't seen her for a couple of years. Turns out the poor momma had at least 2 litters a year for the previous 2 years agains the advice of her vet. We were told that there was a vet assist that tried to convince the breeder to let her have the dog but she wouldn't agree. So the breeder cut off ties with her original vet and took her to someone else for an emergency c-section after her last litter. Obviously our phone calls and emails were not returned.
 

Melonie

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Ah yes it happens with all animals! I got a Rottie from someone who seemed like an awesome breeder and he ended up having really bad hip dysplasia and was soo expensive to get the surgeries to fix him! He ended up passing from getting a bone infection from surgery. It was his 3rd one!
 

MissMySphynxBoys

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There is no substitute for visiting a breeder in person (not to mention the added stress of shipping a baby alone to his new home) but sometimes shipping is the only option.

When we shipped our boys across the country from coast to coast back in the early 90s, we had fabulous experiences. Continental was wonderful and the boys were treated like the celebrities that they were.

I am still working on my husband (I keep hearing Mug-y's Mom saying "slowly slowly catchy monkey) but there is no harm in gathering information, right?

For those of you with shipping experience (breeder or buyer) would you please share your stories, good and bad, I would love to hear them. Thanks.


I'm just bumping this thread up in hopes more members will share their shipping stories.
 

KushielsTart

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Personally, I will not do it again. We had a bad experience, even though as far as I know things went smoothly. Unfortunately I will never know how much of my cats personality is from trauma, and how much is just her personality. When we got her at the airport (Tulsa to Austin, no layovers) she was terrified. It took us days to coax her from under the furniture. She has always been terrified if we ever try to put her in a carrier or in the car.

She is by far the most timid and easily spooked of our babies. The way she acts is completely different than all of our other Sphynx experiences - so do we attribute it to the flight since that was the one difference? For our newest cat we made the 7 hour drive but I can see how difficult that would be if you were across the country. However, I'd probably just fly myself and take the cat as a carry-on rather than risk it.
 

MissMySphynxBoys

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Personally, I will not do it again. We had a bad experience, even though as far as I know things went smoothly. Unfortunately I will never know how much of my cats personality is from trauma, and how much is just her personality. When we got her at the airport (Tulsa to Austin, no layovers) she was terrified. It took us days to coax her from under the furniture. She has always been terrified if we ever try to put her in a carrier or in the car.

She is by far the most timid and easily spooked of our babies. The way she acts is completely different than all of our other Sphynx experiences - so do we attribute it to the flight since that was the one difference? For our newest cat we made the 7 hour drive but I can see how difficult that would be if you were across the country. However, I'd probably just fly myself and take the cat as a carry-on rather than risk it.


Thanks for sharing this. Its good food for thought!
 

marlene

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I haven't shipped a kitty for 15 years but when I was breeding I used to fly them only with Continental. My rule was that I wouldn't fly a kitten out before it was 4 months old. The longest trip one took was from Cleveland to Germany and he did just fine.

I was always a firm believer in taking out flight insurance. Lots of it. I think airlines pay more attention to an animal that's insured for $10K. My apologies if I'm insulting any airline workers but that was always my suspicion at any rate. I do know that my babies never had any trouble whatsoever when flying to their new homes.
 

Mews2much

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Two of my sphynx came from North Carolina to California with out any problems.
The other came from San Diego to Sacramento via Texas and she was missing.
You do not know what it is like when the airline tells you the pets might have been left in a pod.
If so they could die from no air.
I ended up with a terrible migraine that night.
I would still have a cat shipped if it was from a breeder I trust.
I got Polar after that bs happened with Wrinkles.



 
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