A PASSENGER was left shocked after airport security stopped him because of his suitcase – because they found a live cat inside.
The orange cat was discovered at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York earlier this week after an agent spotted some orange hair poking out of the zipper of the suitcase.
The image, shared on Twitter, showed tufts of ginger fur poking out of the black suitcase between the gaps of the orange zipper.
They joked on social media: "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 meow’! Feline like you have travel questions reach out to our furiends @AskTSA. They’re available every day, from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. (ET).”
TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein added in a statement that the agent was “shocked” to spot the cat in the luggage, which had been checked in and X-rayed before it was spotted.
She confirmed the cat didn’t belong to the traveller, but belonged to someone in his household and was on its way back, saying: “On the bright side, the cat’s out of the bag and safely back home."
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The passenger, who was flying to Orlando, was forced to miss his flight, but ended up booking one the next day.
The cat's owner said she thought the cat must have crawled into the suitcase when she was at work, and only realised "Smells" was missing when the airport contacted her.
Alix, 37, from Brooklyn, told The Post: "An officer called and asked if I wanted to press charges
"He wanted to know if there was any reason he was trying to steal my cat and go to Florida.”
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However, she said it was just a mistake, adding: “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’s fiancé headed to the airport to collect the cat – only to find the animal unbothered.
Alix added: "I was worried he’d be freaked out but he wasn’t even meowing on the way back.
“I went to give him some extra treats and he acted like nothing had happened.”
It isn't the first time something like this has happened.
Last year, a couple was left baffled after being told their baggage was hugely overweight at the airport – only to find their pet chihuahua inside.
Jared and Kristi Owens were travelling from Texas to Las Vegas last month when airport staff said their cases were too heavy.
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However, after opening it, they were stunned to see their pet dog Icky who had somehow climbed into the bag without them realising.
And earlier this year, a lizard ended up travelling from Mexico to Sunderland last month in a Brit's suitcase.
A version of this story was published on New York Post and reproduced with permission.
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