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Stowaway Cat Discovered in Passenger’s Checked Bag – But This Is Not My Cat!

Posted in Cat Stories - On: November 29, 2022 - Author:  Jan Travell
Posted in Cat Stories 
Last Updated: November 8, 2023  
Author:  Jan Travell

A stowaway cat was discovered in a checked in suitcase at JFK airport, when asked about the incident the owner of the suitcase said: "This is not my cat!"

The orange kitty was discovered after a TSA agent saw some orange hair poking out of the zipper on a black suitcase.

After alerting the owner of the suitcase, he explained that he had no idea there was a stowaway cat in his luggage. 

suitcase

Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) said that the agent was shocked by his discovery - the poor kitty had already been checked in and x-rayed.

After seeing the orange kitty, the passenger realized that he belonged to a member of the house where he'd been staying.

xray case

Lisa explained the stowaway cat was safely returned home, but unfortunately the passenger missed his flight and had to reschedule for the next day.

“On the bright side, the cat’s out of the bag and safely back home,” she added.

cat in case

The orange tabby's human told the New York Post that her furball, named Smells, must have crawled into their friend’s suitcase while she was at work. 

She had no idea her cat was missing until she got a call from an airport official alerting her to the situation.

Here he is, waiting patiently for his owner to collect him.

cat on shelf

“An officer called and asked if I wanted to press charges against her guest," she told The Post. “He wanted to know if there was any reason he was trying to steal my cat and go to Florida.”

“Our cats really like to check out bags and boxes and apparently one of them climbed into his suitcase. It was just an accident."

ginger cat

Meanwhile, Smells was completely chilled out about the whole affair when his owner arrived to take him home.

“I was worried he’d be freaked out but he wasn’t even meowing on the way back,” she said. “I went to give him some extra treats and he acted like nothing had happened.”

 The TSA made light of the situation by posting this on Twitter:

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About the author

Jan Travell is a lifelong cat owner and a feline expert. She's been the Cats and Kittens lead editor from the start. She lives in rural France with her two rescue cats, Tigerlily and Mr.Gee. Her senior kitty, Ducati, passed over the rainbow bridge recently at the ripe old age of 22.

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