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.
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.
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.
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.
“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."
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:
We’re letting the cat out of the bag on a hiss-toric find. This CATch had our baggage screening officers @JFKairport saying, “Come on meow”! Feline like you have travel questions reach out to our furiends @AskTSA. They’re available every day, from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. (ET). pic.twitter.com/LpIkLbAgzC
— TSA (@TSA) November 22, 2022
Related story: Couple Stopped at Airport Security Because Their Cat Wanted a Holiday Too!
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