A Maine coon cat named Mittens became an accidental jetsetter this month when her cage was neglected in a plane's cargo hold and she made three trips in 24 hours between New Zealand and Australia.
Mittens, 8, was booked for a one-way trip with her family from Christchurch, New Zealand to their new home in Melbourne, Australia on January 13. cargo area, three hours passed with no sign of the cat.
It was then that staff on the ground told Neas that the plane had returned to New Zealand – with Mittens still on board. The return journey involves approximately 7.5 hours in the air.
“I said, how can this happen? How can this happen? Oh my God,” Neas said.
The distance from Christchurch, New Zealand to Melbourne, Australia is around 1,500 miles – meaning the meat traveled around 4,500 miles before rejoining Neas.
Rod McGuirk/AP
An Air New Zealand pilot was told about the extra passenger while on the plane and turned on the heat in the cargo hold to keep Mittens comfortable, she said. Neas was told that a stubby wheelchair obscured a baggage handler's view of Mittens' cage.
“It wasn't a good start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn't have our family, we weren't complete,” she said.
But the saga had a happy ending. The pet moving company Neas used to arrange Mittens' travels met the cat when she returned to Christchurch and made sure she was back on the plane for another trip to Melbourne – this time straight one way.
Mittens had lost weight but was not injured.
“She basically ran into my arms and just snuggled up in here and just gave me the biggest hugs ever,” Neas said. “It was such a relief.”
Air New Zealand would refund all expenses related to Mittens' travel and have apologized for the distress caused, the airline said in a statement.
“We will work closely with our ground handler in Melbourne to ensure this does not happen again,” spokeswoman Alisha Armstrong said.
Meanwhile Mittens, who is not usually a loving pet, is “the sweetest she's ever been,” Neas said.
“The cat is getting as much attention as she wants right now because we are so happy and excited to have her back.”
refusing to the New Zealand Herald that she received a favorable call from the acting sales manager of the airline.
“He recognized my concerns and said if it was his family pet, he would feel the same way,” Neas told the newspaper.
Margo Neas/AP
