Live cat found in suitcase: Miauuuuu

Anyone who works at the airport and scans travelers' luggage has certainly seen a lot.

But even experienced employees must have been amazed by the suitcase that was to be sent on November 16 from New York's JFK airport to Orlando, Florida.

The bag was handed in by a passenger and passed through a scanner by default.

The outlines of bottles, wine glasses, flip-flops – and what looked like a life-size cat appeared on the monitor.

So employees of the US Transportation Safety Administration TSA opened the suitcase – and actually found a living cat inside.

They were shocked, TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein told US broadcaster CNN.

'It's rare to find a live animal in a checked bag.' The cat was reportedly fine and unharmed - although it had been in the suitcase for some time.

The owner of the suitcase had been contacted, Farbstein explained.

According to them, he told TSA officials that the cat did not belong to him but to someone else in his household.

It was assumed that the cat got into the luggage unnoticed.

TSA have refrained from alerting animal welfare.

The man faced no consequences.

The authority published photos of the incident on Twitter – including numerous puns: “We're letting the cat out of the bag on a hiss-toric find,” it said, among other things.

As the New York Post reported, the cat is now back with its owner.

The animal goes by the name “Smells” – and crept into her visitor's bag unnoticed, the woman said.

'Our cats love bags and boxes, and apparently one of them climbed into his trunk.

It was just a mistake.” She only realized that Smells was gone when airport staff contacted her.

When the cat got home, she gave her extra treats, the owner said.

But Smells acted as if nothing had happened.

aar