A sly feline friend tried to sneak past airport security in a traveller’s luggage on Tuesday morning (November 22) but did not make it past the X-ray when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) discovered the meowing stowaway.
Spotting a tuft of orange fur sticking out of the suitcase’s zippers, an agent discovered the ginger tabby cat named Smells before it could take off from John F Kennedy International Airport. The cat was reportedly unfazed by the entire ordeal and completely safe and unharmed.
TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein confirmed that Smells did not belong to the 37-year-old traveller, known just as Alix P. “On the bright side, the cat’s out of the bag and safely back home,” Farbstein joked.
The cat’s real owner said it must have crawled into their houseguest’s bag while she was at work. She didn’t realise Smells was missing until an officer phoned and asked if she wanted to press charges against Alix.
“He wanted to know if there was any reason he was trying to steal my cat and go to Florida,” the owner told The New York Post. “Our cats really like to check out bags and boxes and apparently one of them climbed into his suitcase. It was just an accident.”
Alix escaped being put on the ‘no fly’ list and his fiancée was called to fetch Smells from the airport. “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.”
“We’re letting the cat out of the bag on a hiss-toric find. This CATch had our baggage screening officers at JFK Airport saying, ‘Come on meow!’ Felines, like you, have travel questions, reach out to our furiends at Ask TSA. They’re available every day, from 08h00-18h00,” the TSA quipped in response.
