Flying a kitten interstate: what actually happens

About a third of our kittens fly. Every family that has done it was nervous beforehand and relaxed afterwards, so here is exactly what the day looks like — because knowing the sequence is most of what settles people down.

The week before

The crate arrives at our house four or five days early and lives open in the lounge room with a blanket in it. By the time we need it, it smells like home and the kittens are sleeping in it voluntarily. This one step does more for a calm flight than anything else.

Meanwhile the courier books the flight, we confirm the vet health certificate is dated within the airline's window, and you get the flight number and arrival time in writing.

The morning of the flight

• Around 6am — a small breakfast. Not a full meal: a slightly empty stomach travels better. Water right up until the crate goes in the car.
• 7am — into the crate with the blanket that smells of mum, an absorbent liner and a frozen water bowl that thaws slowly through the trip.
• 8am — we drive to the courier or to the freight terminal, whichever the booking says, and hand over the paperwork. We take a photo of your kitten in the crate and text it to you.

The flight itself

Pets travel in the hold, but not the part of the hold you're imagining. Animals go in a separate compartment that is pressurised and temperature-controlled to roughly the same conditions as the cabin. It's dark and it's noisy, which is why a crate that already smells familiar matters.

Melbourne to Sydney is about ninety minutes wheels-up. Brisbane is two and a bit. Perth is four, which is the one flight where we'd talk to you about timing carefully.

We don't sedate kittens for flights, and no reputable courier will either. Sedatives affect breathing and temperature regulation at altitude — every airline and veterinary body advises against it.

Arrival

Pets don't come out on the passenger carousel. You collect from the airline's freight or pet-handling desk, which is usually a short drive from the terminal — the courier tells you exactly where and gives you a consignment number.

Allow about 45 minutes after landing for unloading and paperwork. Bring your own carrier if you'd rather not drive home with the travel crate, though most families keep it.

Your kitten will be alert, probably vocal, and generally more interested in you than in what just happened. Take them straight home, straight into the quiet room you've set up, and let them decide when to come out.

Why we use accompanied couriers

You can book pet freight yourself and it will be cheaper. We don't, and here's why.

An accompanied pet courier travels on the same flight as your kitten. They check the crate at the terminal, they confirm loading with the ground crew, and if the flight is delayed or cancelled the kitten comes back out and is looked after by a person rather than sitting in a freight shed. On a straight freight booking, nobody on that aircraft knows or particularly cares that there is a twelve-week-old kitten below.

It costs perhaps a hundred dollars more. In twelve years we have never regretted it.

What it costs

You pay the courier directly, so there's no markup from us. As a guide, as at August 2026:

Those figures include an airline-approved crate. Western Australia has additional entry requirements, which we complete for you at no charge — it's paperwork, not an obstacle.

One thing we won't do

We won't fly a kitten in a heatwave. Airlines embargo live animals above certain ground temperatures anyway, but even below the limit we'd rather move the booking by a few days than put a semi-longhaired kitten on a tarmac at 38 degrees. If that happens we'll ring you, and we'll keep the kitten here at no cost until it's safe to travel.