Cat mistakenly left on plane, travels 4,500 miles for 3 trips: “How can this be?”

Mittens, a Maine coon cat, accidentally became a jetliner this month after his cage fell out of sight in the plane’s cargo hold, making three trips between New Zealand and Australia in 24 hours.

On January 13, 8-year-old Mittens was booked for a one-way trip with his family from Christchurch, New Zealand, to their new home in Melbourne, Australia. But owner Margo Neas said Wednesday that while Mittens was waiting to be unloaded from the plane’s cargo hold, three hours passed without a sign of the cat.

It was then that the ground crew told Neas that the plane was returning to New Zealand with Mittens still on board. The return trip takes about 7.5 hours in the air.

“I said, how can that be? How can that be? Oh my God,” Neas said.

The distance from Christchurch, New Zealand to Melbourne, Australia is about 1,500 miles, meaning the cat traveled about 4,500 miles before being reunited with Neas.

An Air New Zealand pilot was notified of the extra passenger during the flight and turned on the heat in the cargo hold to keep Mittens comfortable, he said. Unexpectedly, the folded wheelchair obscured the porter’s view of Mittens’ cage.

“It wasn’t a great start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn’t have a family, we weren’t complete,” he said.

But the saga ended with a happy ending. The pet transport company Neas used to arrange Mittens’ trip met the cat on her return to Christchurch and arranged for her to get back on the plane for another trip to Melbourne – this time only one way.

Mittens had lost weight but was unharmed.

“He basically ran into my arms and just leaned over here and gave the biggest hugs of all time,” Neas said. “It was just such a relief.”

Air New Zealand will cover all expenses related to Mittens’ travel and apologize for any inconvenience caused, the airline said in a statement.

“We will be working closely with our ground manager in Melbourne to ensure this does not happen again,” spokeswoman Alisha Armstrong said.

Meanwhile, Mittens, not usually a friendly pet, is “the cutest he’s ever been,” Neas said.

“The cat is getting all the attention it wants right now because we’re completely and utterly relieved to have it back.”

He denies it This was reported by the New Zealand Herald publication he received a sympathetic call from the airline’s acting sales manager.

“He acknowledged my concern and mentioned that if it was his family’s pet, he would feel the same way,” Neas told the paper.