The Transportation Security Administration has found some weird things in passengers’ luggage — including eels, a human skull and a cannon barrel. But a recent find during baggage screening at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York caught TSA agents by surprise when it turned out to be furry, orange and alive.
A ginger kitty stowed away in a bag checked at the airport. The sneaky feline was discovered when it went through an X-ray unit. TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said it “shocked” the officer who found it. A photo from the incident shows a close-up view of the zipper on the bag with a telltale tuft of orange fur sticking out.
A @TSA officer was shocked to find an orange cat inside a checked bag at @JFKairport after it went through the X-ray unit. Traveler said the cat belonged to someone else in his household. On the bright side, the cat’s out of the bag and safely back home. pic.twitter.com/5XZVJLaZNm
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) November 22, 2022
The cat didn’t even officially belong to the passenger who accidentally brought it to the airport. “Traveler said the cat belonged to someone else in his household,” Farbstein tweeted. “On the bright side, the cat’s out of the bag and safely back home.”
On Tuesday, the TSA tweeted some more views of the event, describing it as “a hiss-toric find.” An X-ray image shows the cat had tucked itself in at the top of a rolling bag. It appears the bag had some bottles and what looks like a wine glass in there, too.
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). pic.twitter.com/LpIkLbAgzC
— TSA (@TSA) November 22, 2022
The fur shot and the X-ray view are funny, but the true star of the show might be a low-res screenshot of a TSA agent in a blue shirt and gloves slowly opening the bag to find the feline curled up inside. Please enjoy:
You’ve heard of Cat in the Hat. Here’s cat in the checked bag.
TSAFor anyone wondering how a cat squeezed into a bag unnoticed, I refer you to a scientific study that attempted to answer the question, “Are cats a liquid?” If the luggage was packed with bottles as it seemed to be, the extra weight of one quiet and crafty cat could easily have gone unnoticed.
Some people have questioned the intelligence of orange cats in general, but there doesn’t seem to be evidence to back up that “sweet but dim” stereotype.
