A gorgeous Maine coon cat from New Zealand became a stowaway after being mistakenly left in her cage in the cargo area of a plane.
Mittens the Maine coon was moving with her family from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 13 when she was unfortunately missed by ground staff during the unloading process.
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After hours of waiting for Mittens at the plane’s freight area, the owners learned their beloved furry friend had been overlooked in the cargo hold. By the time they realized the mistake, Mittens was already on her way back to New Zealand.
“It was not a great start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn’t have the family, we weren’t complete,” said Margo Neas, Mitten’s owner, per the Associated Press.
Thankfully, ground staff alerted the pilot that the poor cat was still on board, and he turned on the heating in the cargo area to ensure a comfortable flight. Once she arrived back in New Zealand, Neas’ original pet moving company retrieved Mittens at the airport and got her boarded on another flight to Australia.
“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.”
Air New Zealand has since reimbursed all associated costs and released a statement apologizing for the incident. “We’ll work closely with our ground handler in Melbourne to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” said spokesperson Alisha Armstrong.
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