After being rescued from the luggage area at JFK Airport by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Smells the cat got to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at home in Brooklyn.
Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the agency, tweeted on Monday morning that “Smells, the cat who @TSA recently rescued from a checked bag at @JFKairport after he snuck into a suitcase in an attempt to fly to Orlando, enjoyed Thanksgiving at home in Brooklyn”.
“Apparently Smells was planning to chase after a big mouse he heard was running around Disneyworld,” Ms Farbstein joked.
The bag that Smells managed to sneak into was packed with bottles, wine glasses, and a pair of flip-flops – but the pet came out of the ordeal unharmed after TSA officers saw the outline of the cat in the suitcase during an X-ray security check last month.
After making the find on 16 November, the TSA tweeted, “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’!”
ABC7 reported that the bag owner said the cat belonged to a roommate but didn’t say how the cat came to be in the luggage.
“Cat owners know they’re always one distraction away from doing this,” one Twitter user said in response to the X-ray image posted by the TSA.
“My cats are always trying to go on vacation with us!” one account holder added, while a third said, “I am shocked that this hasn’t happened to me yet”.
“I love things like this where everyone in the replies is like ANIMAL ABUSE THAT COULD NEVER BE ACCIDENTAL THE CAT IS TOO SQUISHED like my sibling in christ have you ever met a cat,” one person said.
“The comments – People without cats: This was intentional. People with cats: Yes, by the cat. The cat absolutely did it on purpose,” another account holder added.
