A TSA agent in New York Metropolis noticed a stay feline trapped inside checked baggage at John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport — however safely bought the cat out of the bag, authorities stated Tuesday.
The orange tabby’s brush with potential tragedy occurred on Nov. 16 when the bag was checked from JFK to Atlanta for a connecting flight to Melbourne Orlando Worldwide Airport in Florida, officers stated.
“The cat didn’t belong to the person with the suitcase, it belonged another person within the family,” TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein advised NBC Information.
The flagged baggage was taken apart and the cat rescued earlier than the tabby may have ended up within the pressurized cargo maintain.
It “was implied” that the furball noticed the open suitcase and jumped in with out the traveler seeing it, Farbstein added.
As nearly any cat dad or mum can attest, open suitcases are inviting targets for loving felines.
“I feel one purpose is that it is like a cat mattress. Cats like areas with obstacles round it,” Cornell College professor emeritus and animal behavioral skilled Katherine Houpt stated.
“And presumably it smells just like the proprietor and I feel they affiliate it with an impending loss. They may not essentially wish to stop that proprietor from going, however maybe at the least they wish to sign stress.”
Whereas “none of my present cats are suitcase jumpers,” Houpt stated she takes no possibilities and packs her baggage on an elevated rack.