Mittens the Cat Endures Three Flights After Being Overlooked in Plane Cargo Hold

Image via Shutterstock

Mistakes were certainly made. A cat named Mittens ended up taking a much longer trip than anyone planned after being forgotten in a plane's cargo hold. The poor little feline traveled three trips between New Zealand and Australia in the span of 24 hours. And you thought that your traveling experience was rough.

Mittens and her family were relocating from Christchurch, New Zealand to Melbourne, Australia. It was supposed to be a one way trip for the family and the cat. Unfortunately, the airplane staff didn't realize that the animal was still aboard the plane. Cue a very concerned and worried Margo Neas waiting for Mittens at the freight area, according to New York Post.

After three hours and no cat, it was clear that something had gone wrong. Airplane staff explained that they had accidentally returned Mittens to New Zealand. A wheelchair had blocked the cage from view, and so the baggage handler missed the cat. It was a 7.5-hour flight.

Mittens Takes A Trip

"I said, how can this happen? How can this happen? Oh my God," Neas said. Fortunately, Air New Zealand learned of the mistake and turned on the heat in the cargo hold for the poor cat. "It was not a great start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn't have the family, we weren't complete."

Fortunately, a pet moving company met Mittens in New Zealand. They helped to book the cat on another trip back to Melbourne. Fortunately, this time Mittens actually reached her destination. She had lost weight from all of that traveling. But the situation could have ended worse. The cat appeared to be clearly distressed by all of the traveling.

"She basically just ran into my arms and just snuggled up in here and just did the biggest cuddles of all time," Neas said. "It was just such a relief...The cat gets as much attention as she wants right now because we're just so absolutely and utterly relieved to have her back."

Air New Zealand promised to pay for all of the traveling for the cat. They also apologized.

"We'll work closely with our ground handler in Melbourne to ensure this doesn't happen again," said spokesperson Alisha Armstrong.

You Might Also Like