A man checked in a suitcase with a live cat: you will be very surprised at how he explained this act
'23.11.2022'
Nadezhda Verbitskaya
The cat tried to arrange a Thanksgiving getaway, but was discovered by agents of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, writes New York Post.
The ginger cat was found at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on November 22. The agent noticed a tuft of red wool sticking out of the zipper of a suitcase that one of the passengers had checked in.
The TSA agent was shocked to find the fluffy in the luggage, which had already been checked in and X-rayed. But the shock only intensified when a representative from the Transportation Security Administration asked the owner of the suitcase about the cat. TSA employee Lisa Farbstein said the traveler did not know he had a cat in his luggage.
“The traveler said that the cat did not belong to him, but to relatives with whom he lived in New York,” Farbstein explained.
The picture accompanying the tweet about the find shows tufts of red fur sticking out between the slits of a slightly unzipped orange zipper.
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 me”! Feline like you have travel questions reach out to our furiends @AskTSA. They're available every day, from 8 am to 6 pm (ET). pic.twitter.com/LpIkLbAgzC
- TSA (@TSA) November 22, 2022
Farbstein said the cat was returned to its owners: “The cat got out of the bag and returned home safely.”
The cat is a bag lover
Journalists tracked down the owner of the animal. The owner said the cat, named Smells, must have crawled into their guest's bag while she was at work. She didn't notice her ginger cat was missing until she got a call from an airport employee.
“An officer called and asked if I wanted to press charges against our guest,” said 37-year-old Brooklyn resident Alix. “He wanted to know if there was any reason a guest might be trying to steal my cat and go to Florida.”
The TSA agents were ready to brand the man as a cat thief and blacklist him from the Air Safety Service. But Alix assured them that what had happened was an accident.
“Our cats are very fond of checking bags and boxes. And, apparently, one of them climbed into his suitcase. It was just an accident,” said the owner of the cat.
On the subject: NYPD officers' guns stolen from luggage on flight to Atlanta
Immediately after the call from the airport, Alix and her boyfriend drove to JFK to rescue what they thought was a frazzled cat. But they found that the cat was not at all bothered by the ordeal.
“I was worried he'd be scared, but he didn't even meow on the way back,” Alix said. “I wanted to treat him to something tasty, and he behaved as if nothing had happened.”
Most American airlines allow cats and dogs to fly with their owners in the main cabin, provided they meet size and age requirements.