Thanksgiving travel is notorious for crowds, delays and general unpredictability, but one Southwest Airlines flight delivered a surprise no one on board expected. In what appears to be the middle of the flight, the cabin crew suddenly found themselves looking for the owner of a very confused cat.
Traveler Jason Thompson (@jaytom531) captured the moment, which was also shared on Instagram (embedded above) by @aflyguytravels, as the flight attendant scrambled to track down the mysterious feline’s owner. The cat sat in the FA’s arms quietly as he made his way down the aisle, looking bewildered while passengers watched in amusement.
Flight attendants first tried making an announcement, but that didn’t help. With earbuds in, holiday fatigue setting in and passengers absorbed in movies and snacks, the announcement went ignored. So the crew moved on to Plan B: pick up the cat and physically walk it from row to row, hoping someone would claim responsibility.
The sight of a fluffy feline being paraded up and down the plane turned into a mini in-flight spectacle. Some passengers joked that the flight attendant was secretly hoping the owner would be in the very last row, while others wished their flights came with such entertainment. After several trips through the cabin, the owner finally realized the commotion was about their pet. The cat was safely returned to its carrier, ending the airborne cat hunt.
As a lifelong cat lover, I have mixed feelings about this. It’s obviously adorable, but it’s also frustratingly irresponsible on multiple levels. Why didn’t the owner have a more secure carrier? Or keep a closer eye on the cat? Or pay attention to the announcements and/or at least have a collar with the cat’s name? All of this would have prevented the chaos. This could have been dangerous for those with severe allergies, potential scratches, or even the stress for the animal.
Comments online were mixed with amusement and concern. Airlines require small pets to remain in closed carriers, and some questioned how the crew didn’t already know the owner’s seat. Still, despite the logistics, the incident provided a lighthearted if slightly chaotic moment in an otherwise routine flight.
In the end, the cat was unharmed, the passengers got a story to tell, and the flight crew had one more unusual Thanksgiving tale to share.