A flighty feline has been returned to its owner after spending almost two weeks in the ceiling of a New York airport.
The kitty in question, who is named Muji, was travelling from New York to Orange County, California when she made a break for it at airport security while going through LaGuardia Airport security.
Her owner, Pastry Chef Taylor Le, was in the process of moving from Brooklyn to Orange County on Christmas eve when she was stopped by TSA agents and asked to take Muji out of her carry case to walk through a metal detector.
“I said, ‘She’s gonna run. Do I have to take her out?’” Le told the New York Post.
Sure enough, Muji got spooked once released, bit Le and ran off.
After giving Le and multiple airport workers a thorough run around, Muji wound up in a mechanical room where she used a series of platforms to bound into the ceiling.
When the cat failed to reemerge once airport control has set up tuna traps, Le changed her flight to the following day, hoping her furry friend would emerge.
When the cat didn’t show, Le had to take the flight.
“I had no place to stay. I had nothing,” she said.
“I didn’t know what to do, so I boarded my flight the next day.”
Le told the New York Post her friend began performing “distance reiki” rituals to communicate “energetically” with the cat after airport officials had no updates after a few days, but in the end, social media came to the rescue.
The woman took to Facebook to post a public plea for help and was contacted by pet-flying advocacy group Where is Jack? Inc, named after a cat who went missing at JFK Airport in 2011 and died shortly after.
“The Queens Lost & Found got notified about [Muji] being lost. Our people monitor that on Facebook,” said the group’s founder, Mary Beth Melchior.
Melchior works alongside two animal lovers, both named Bonnie, who quickly got on the case.
“The two Bonnies, they know who to call, what to do on the ground – they went into action.”
The group got permission from the airport to bring in a tracking dog named Abby, who was able to confirm Muji was still in the ceiling, prompting Le to book the next flight she could.
A few days later, Muji left the ceiling and was captured in a trap.
The shell-shocked kitty was taken to an animal hospital in Long Island, where she was reunited with Le.
The two have booked to travel back to California together but this time, Le said Muji would be wearing a harness.
Featured image source: Facebook/Taylor Le
