Ragdoll Kittens for California Families

We have placed a Ragdoll in Los Angeles, and California comes up often enough to be worth setting out properly. On our Seattle and Bellevue pages we usually tell families to drive. California is the one where we do not, and that changes the whole conversation.

Why California is a flight, not a drive

Los Angeles is roughly 960 miles from our home in Vancouver, Washington. San Francisco is about 640. The Bay Area is a long single day in a car. Los Angeles is two, with overnight stops, and a kitten in a carrier for all of it.

We would not recommend either. For California the flight is almost always the kinder option, and it is usually the cheaper one once you count a hotel and two days of your time.

Fifteen nonstop routes from PDX

Portland flies nonstop to fifteen California airports: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland, Burbank, Long Beach, Ontario, Orange County, Palm Springs, Fresno, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Santa Rosa. Most run year round on Alaska.

That matters more than it sounds. A nonstop keeps a kitten in the carrier for around two hours instead of most of a day. No connection, no second boarding, and no window where a kitten could be separated from the person carrying them.

How the handoff works

There are two ways this happens, and one way it does not.

• You fly to Portland and carry the kitten home in cabin. Most families who can spare the day choose this. You meet the kitten, you meet us, and the kitten travels under the seat in front of you.
• A flight nanny brings the kitten to you. The kitten flies in cabin with an experienced handler and is passed to you at your arrival airport.
• We do not use cargo. Not for any price, and not for any airline.

We also own PDX Flight Nanny, a cats-only in-cabin transport service flying out of Portland. You are free to use a different nanny and some families do. We would rather say that plainly than have you find it out afterwards.

What it costs

The kitten is $2,300. On top of that, for a California placement:

• Flight nanny: $600 to $2,000, depending on the airport and the date
• Health certificate from our veterinarian: $200 to $400
• Airline in-cabin pet fee: $95 to $150

If you fly out and carry the kitten back yourself, you are paying your own airfare and the pet fee rather than the nanny fee. For Southern California that is often the cheaper route.

Timing, and the part that catches people out

Health certificates have a short validity window, and there is a rabies timing issue that surprises almost everyone the first time. Both are explained in detail in our guide to flying a kitten home.

Heat is the other one. Airlines restrict live animal travel above certain temperatures, which for inland California in midsummer can mean an early morning departure or waiting out a heat wave. Sacramento, Fresno, Palm Springs and the inland valleys are the ones to plan around.

What we ask of California families

• A phone or video call before we agree to a placement
• Some flexibility on dates, because the flight depends on nanny availability and the weather
• Someone at home for the first few days, which matters more than anything else on this list

Where in California we have placed

So far, Los Angeles. If you are somewhere else in the state, ask. With fifteen nonstop airports the answer is usually yes, with a conversation about timing.

Elsewhere out of state? See our nationwide adoption page.