Cat Found At Airport

[dreissig]

Jefferson, a five-year old orange tabby, was discovered in a basement near the Seattle airport where he'd broken out of his travel crate two months earlier. The story says that the animal lost 40% of its body weight. But just look at the picture! Jefferson didn't miss any meals in his two-month sabbatical. He's sleek and healthy looking.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/12/26/offbeat.cat.found.ap/index.html


Domestic Traveler "Jefferson"

Edited to insert link

[SoCalDem]

1. Wow... what a wonderful story..

I bet his owners are in heaven.. :):)

[Dookus]

2. yay....

I like happy endings. He's one beautiful cat!

[aquart]

3. Poor traumatized baby.

How did he get out of the crate?

[SoCalDem]

4. Airport workers often "feel sorry" for them

When we came back from Panama, we brought our small parrot, and we had to claim him at the freight terminal iin Kansas City.. We found his cage/crate, but no parrot.. We had to wander up and down the aisles hollering "Pancake"..(that was his name..don't ask me why :eyes:..).. We eventually found him and he flew to us.. (Thankfully we had not clipped his wings)..

A handler confessed that his water dish had spilled and he was going to fill it..

These people are probably pet-lovers and yet they don't realize how scared these animal;s are.. Their first instinct is to RUN away or fly away..

[xchrom]

5. now that's news i love

jefferson will be so happy to be with his people again.

[izzie]

6. I shipped my Great Dane once and this is what happened.

His case had signs all over it when I got him . Poor baby got no water as every one felt he was scary.He did stand as a big Dane but he really liked to sit on my lap and was one big baby. Was he glad to get out of that case and see me and have a pan of water.

[izzie]

7. Just love this story.

:hug:

[meti57b]

8. I'm so glad they found that cat!!

The family must have been truly devastated and the cat, so frightened.

The shipping container/crates for cats and dogs come with top and bottom halves that easily come apart. A friend recently shipped a new cat to me and the more I thought about it, the more I panicked. I could just imagine the container coming apart and the cat lost on the airfield.

I purchased the shipping crate myself, fastened the top and bottom halves together with nuts and bolts with mil spec lock washers, such that it was not possible to separate the two halves of the container without a special socket wrench. No way it could come apart, but I went on to put nylon releasable cable ties around the whole thing. I sent the crate to her along with more nylon cable ties and asked her to fasten the door with the ties, if they would allow it. (You need a scissor to remove these ties.)

The airline allowed the cable ties on the door but removed the ties around the outside of the container, guess they thought that was a little much, not to mention my friend still thinks I'm nuts. Needless to say, the cat arrived safely.

FAA guidelines require that live animals are taken off the plane before any other cargo or passengers, they are also taken on to the plane after all other cargo and passengers are loaded, to minimize their time onboard. The cargo bays are of course pressurized, FAA guidelines require certain weather temperature range at each end of the flight, food and water dish with food and water for the animal, health certificate and a bunch of stuff.

Picking the cat up at the airport was fun, the staff at the Priority Shipping Desk loves it when a cat ships in. One of their ground crew hand-carriers the container up to the desk. I could see him walking across the terminal with my cat carrier with this enormous smile on his face. He set it on the shipping counter while about ten airline employees materialized out of nowhere to ooo and aaah my cat and hear all about him, (you need to allow time for that, 'cause it's gonna happen!)