Cats are natural aviators!
Posted on 01/22/2025 2:16:26 PM PST by nickcarraway
A cat has made three flights between New Zealand and Australia in just 24 hours after being forgotten on a plane.
Mittens, an eight-year-old Maine Coon, was booked to travel from Christchurch to Melbourne on 12 January - but her cage was left in the Air New Zealand aircraft's cargo hold.
After waiting for three hours for Mittens at Melbourne airport, owner Margo Neas was told by ground staff the plane had already returned to New Zealand with her pet.
During that flight the heating was turned on to keep the cat comfortable, Ms Neas said. The pet - who had lost weight but was otherwise unharmed - was later flown again to Melbourne to reunite with her owner.
Speaking to NBC on Wednesday, Ms Neas said she and her son had been informed about the mishap by airport ground staff in Melbourne.
"They said: 'Look, we have located your cat - but it's actually on the return flight to Christchurch...'
"And I said: 'When did you discover that the cat wasn't taken off the plane?' And they said: 'We've only just discovered now.' And I said: 'How can this happen?'"
Ms Neas said she was told that the pilot had already been alerted to turn the heating on in the cargo hold where the temperature could be as low as 7C.
Air New Zealand is still looking into how Mittens was forgotten, but reports say a stowed wheelchair may have obscured a baggage handler's view of her cage.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
AWWW!!! I’m so glad she’s okay!!!!
Wouldn’t “Live Cat” be on the manifest?
“See, Mate: It says right here there was a live cat in a cage on this plane! Did you take a cat off this plane? Did ANYBODY take a cat off this plane? No? Then go back in there and FIND THE BLOODY CAT!!!”
Did she get any frequent flyer miles?
Does she get frequent flyer miles?
We’ve transported cats via air before. A Maine Coon from HI to CA, and later three cats from CA to TN. We were on the same flights as the cats, and worried every mile of the way that they’d be hurt or lost somewhere along the way. They all did fine.
I was thinking the same thing.
Yes, good news. She probably had some good sleep.
“”During that flight the heating was turned on “”
The HEATING? Well, they do talk funny down under!
If he flew using his Capital One Card, he got six times the miles. (Which he may not care to use)
It’s got to have been a tagged luggage cage for air transport to accept, and to have been on the manifest for unloading— this is not correct cargo offloading or accounting. But at least they caught it before they froze the animal to death in the cargo hold. Wonder if they heated it on the trip from Christ Church. Coon cats can take a lot— but not 7 centigrade for very long.
A cat named Mittens? Named for the 2012 Republican nominee?
7 degrees centigrade is 44.6 Fahrenheit...more concerned about the pressurization of the hold.
Glad kitty Mittens was okay...Maine Coons are pretty mellow so she probably slept most of the time.
I traveled, on my own, with 3 kids (all under 7) and 2 cats from New York to Germany. Was more nervous about the cats down in the hold than the kids, but we all did fine ... ah! the life of a military spouse
That’s my question - must have earned a free upgrade to First Class for the next flight
Mittens looks like she’s not happy about it.
Cats are natural aviators!
Used to have a MC. He was awesome and I miss him dearly.
Mittens should get a lifetime free ticket for this.
No- The owner is probably going to get a bill for their cats air travel. Less crazy things have happened.
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