Good News Found in Otherwise Distressing Guardian Headlines (Traveling Cat Tale)

[SorellaLaBefana]

...Mittens, eight, was booked for one-way travel with her family from Christchurch, New Zealand to their new home in Melbourne, Australia on 13 January. Her owner, Margo Neas, said on Wednesday that she waited for Mittens to be unloaded from the plane’s freight area, but three hours passed with no sign of the cat.

It was then that ground staff told Neas the plane had returned to New Zealand – with Mittens still onboard. The return trip takes about seven and a half hours...

The Air New Zealand pilot was told of the extra passenger during the flight and turned on the heating in the cargo hold to keep Mittens comfortable, she added. Neas was told that a stowed wheelchair had obscured a baggage handler’s view of Mittens’s cage...

Meanwhile, Mittens, not usually an affectionate pet, was “the cuddliest she’s ever been”, said Neas. “The cat gets as much attention as she wants right now because we’re just so absolutely and utterly relieved to have her back.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/22/mittens-maine-coon-cat-new-zealand-australia-left-on-plane

A Happy Ending!

Patiently waiting three hours for a pet to be unloaded perhaps reflects the British tradition of quiet queuing?

[hlthe2b]

1. Poor baby... At least the airline did what was necessary to find the cat and keep it warm during the ordeal...

I wonder increasingly if many American workers would do so—or if you could even get through to the proper people who could take action.

Still, a happy ending and one we all need right now.