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 ...
Yes but a Kenyon Coon won
that’s a wore out pussy...
The pet - who had lost weight but was otherwise unharmed -
Lost weight in a 24 hr period?
Our Maine Coon was amazing. I miss her every day. So beautiful and sweet. Gone over 20 years now. đ„
Cargo compartments are pressurized the same as the cabin,
would be stupid otherwise.
-fJRoberts-
Cat could have taken a Peace Train.
Right.....and then went to Katmadu!
A long time ago, you could take your cat in its carrier onboard with you. I was flying from Florida to Chicago frequently. Always sat in the back of the plane where the stewardesses sat.
One day a stewardess said to me, “Herb is such a nice cat, he can sit on the seat with you, no need for his carrier.”
Dog was another story. My Corgi had to travel with the cargo. One night, while taking Joe Dog off the plane, his carrier fell off the ramp and broke, and my poor dog had to be chased down the runway so he wasn’t killed by planes landing and taking off.
Joe dog and Herb cat are, alas, long gone and I’ve already been to everyplace I want to go, so DaisyJane, my current cat, has nothing to worry about. But if I die before she does, she’s flying to California to live with my niece.
âFluffyâ (the female the Maine coonâs ultimate name) knew EXACTLY who was in charge.
She instinctively knew that the Big Guy in the big chair (my dad) held total
authority as to whether she got the âinpromptu adoption treatmentâ and
got moved into this - what looks like a comfy home, or not. So the kitten started
âmaking sweetâ on this big guy in the chair. Even at young âkitten ageâ
she was a very smart cat, and just KNEW what she had to do it the situation to get what she wanted.
Bottom line - she had a water bowl, a food bowl, a make-shift litter box and bed
set up for her in a warm comfy corner of the basement by that evening.
She was a great cat!
Had for many years until she became ill and had to be put down.
Yes I miss her. Maine coons are excellent cats.
Because of the depressurization relief vents.
Cabin pressurization is vented overboard through cargo holds. There is only a small difference in pressure.
I'm not referring to normal venting. Unless there's a sudden loss of pressure in the cargo hold.
The depressurization relief vents are incase of a sudden loss of pressure as happened with 2 Boeing DC-10, American Airlines Flight 96 and Turkish Airlines Flight 981.
Source for information below American Airlines Flight 96
The cabin floor failure was also a matter of poor design. All of the other portions of the cargo holds had holes cut into the cabin floor above the cargo areas. In the case of a pressure loss on either side of the floor, the air would flow through the vents and equalize the pressure, thereby eliminating any force on the floor.Only the rearmost portion of the cabin lacked these holes, and it was that portion that failed. Because the control cables were running through the floor for the entire length of the aircraft, however, a failure at any point on the floor would cut controls to the tail section.">
Source for information below Turkish Airlines Flight 981.
Finally, although there was apparent redundancy of the flight control systems, the fact that the pressure relief vents between the cargo compartment and the passenger cabin were inadequate and that all the flight control cables were routed beneath the floor placed the aircraft in grave danger in the case of any sudden depressurization causing substantial damage to that part of the structure.
That is normal as well depending on the aircraft.
Last spring, the other half's sister flew from JAX to LAX to take one cat from LAX to PARIS. The other half took a lemo to LAX where she took another cat to PARIS.
The French allow cats to be carried as carry on baggage in the cabin but the UK doesn't allow that.
All of this because a Southern California immigrant got tired of liberal Kalifornia and wanted to go back to London. She originally came to Kalifornia because her parents left London for Kalifornia.
So FIVE cats and kittens were transferred this way by air and got to ride in the plane as a carry on.
The extras who carried a cat got a round trip ticket from LAX to Paris and from London back to LAX. They had to pay for their motel in Paris but stayed with the cat owner in London for a low cost 2 week trip to Europe.
But the story doesn't quite end there. Ken, a young kitten, did NOT have all of his vaxxxinations so he had to go a few months later. We transferred him by RV to JAX (as part of a summer excursion) where a woman flew down from SOUTH CAROLINA to take Ken to London via France- while she got her free round trip tickets to Europe.
The bottom line is the former London girl who wanted to move back to London from Southern Kalifornia with her cats now has all SIX of them. Only a non cat lover would ask why she just didn't get new cats in London so she wouldn't have to pay so much for the round trip tickets.
I totally get it!
They really are!
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