Orange Tabby Cat Found Inside Luggage at JFK Airport in New York City [Photo]

An orange tabby cat was found alive inside a luggage at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City before the bag was loaded into the cargo hold of a plane.

The feline was found chilling inside the bag when airport security noticed it when passing its typical x-ray protocols.

JFK Airport Luggage Cat

(Photo : Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Transport Security Administration (TSA) in Queens, New York, posted on its Instagram account the photo of the orange tabby cat found alive inside the passenger's luggage while passing through security check.

The photo has an initial caption of "remove Garfield from the bag" before sending the check-in carrier through the x-ray, the Instagram post said.

It is still unclear on whether or not the tabby accidentally got into the carrier.

However, it can be seen from the photo that the feline appears to be sitting above a pile of wine bottles, water jugs, and other items inside the traveling bag.

Based on reports from local sources, there are no indications that the animal suffered wounds or other health complications.

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein told NBC News that the cat was not a pet of the luggage's owner and it belonged to someone else in the household.

The TSA official added that the furball likely saw the open suitcase and jumped inside without the passenger noticing it.

Also Read: Cats Don't Have to Be Bad For the Environment: How to Greenify Your Feline

Cat Sneaks and Escapes Suitcase

The security staff at JFK airport helped the cat out of the bag, after discovering the fugitive feline was hiding in the suitcase.

The pet cat appeared on the computer screens when the luggage passed through the x-ray scanners.

Before escaping, the orange tabby reportedly sneaked into an item of checked luggage.

Airport personnel were about to load the bag when they noticed the "stowaway cat's fur" was initially seen poking out from the luggage's zipper, Euronews reports.

The bag was checked-in from JFK as part of a domestic flight to Atlanta, Georgia, which served as a connecting flight to Melbourne Orlando International Airport in Florida on November 16.

The story would been different or at least fatal if the house cat remained inside the luggage, which will eventually placed into the pressurized cargo hold.

In addition, the plane can get very cold during its journey.

Fortunately, airport security officials returned the cat to its owners, while the passenger who owned the luggage missed his flight.

Enclosed Spaces

A cat owner knows that boxes or other similar open yet enclosed spaces such as a luggage is one of the favorite spots of our fur friends.

In recent years, scientists have observed this common behavior amongst household cats.

According to the pet food company Purina, cats like boxes since they feel safe from it and this stems back to their survival instincts of preferring enclosed spaces, where they can get hide from predators or prey and the only point of entry is from their vision.

With this, an orange tabby cat entering an airport luggage but an incident of imminent tragedy averted.

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