New York: Cat Smells sneaked into the suitcase and was caught at customs

When a passenger’s suitcase went through the X-ray machine at New York’s JFK airport, a US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official got a close look. In addition to the usual things you’d take with you on a trip to Florida, like sundresses and flip-flops, there was something else: the life-size silhouette of a cat.

The officer then asked to open the suitcase. He immediately noticed the cat hair sticking out of the luggage. When the TSA clerk ripped the lid off the suitcase, there was actually a cat lying there, quite comfortably. Even when the suitcase was open and several pairs of eyes were watching it, the animal lay relaxed and did not even try to escape.

The traveler told authorities that the animal did not belong to him but to his roommate. How “NY Post», the cat is called Smells and belongs to 37-year-old Alix from Brooklyn. Apparently her pet snuck into the man’s suitcase while she wasn’t home.

Alix found out about the incident when a TSA agent called and asked if she would like to press charges against the man for possible animal abduction. “She wanted to know if there was a reason she might have tried to steal my cat and go to Florida,” the woman says. Authorities even wanted to put the man on the no-fly list.

Alix assured them it was a mistake. “Our cats are curious when they see bags and boxes,” she explained. Apparently one of them climbed into the suitcase. “It was just an accident,” says Alix.

Alix’s friend picked up the animal at the airport, he still seemed completely unfazed by the incident. “I was afraid he’d freak out, but he didn’t even meow on the way back,” he says. “I gave her extra treats and she acted like nothing happened.”

In the end, the TSA did not activate animal protection, since «CNN,” he reports. But the traveler missed his flight and had to rebook a flight the next day.