To ensure they would have room in their baggage to bring back keepsakes, they had made care to pack little. They were unaware that one of their carry-ons was a little bit heavier than they had anticipated.
According to Coole, who spoke to The Dodo, “Airport security were all quite perplexed and repeatedly inquired if the luggage was ours after it had passed through the scanner.”
Security officials ushered the couple into a private room off to the side. Unsure what could be the matter and anxious to board their flight, Coole’s wife suddenly had an idea: “We were taken into a private room where my wife flagged, ‘I bet it’s a cat,’” Coole said. “‘It’s the only thing it can be.’”
When a security officer unzipped the luggage, out popped the Cooles’ 5-year-old cat Candy — clearly not happy about being left behind.
Of the Cooles’ three cats, Candy has a special talent for squeezing into bags and boxes. And this wasn’t the first time that she had secretly hitched a ride out of town.
When we were on vacation, she once went missing for two weeks before being located, according to Coole. “We believe she entered a vehicle used by builders. She excels at slipping into tight spaces.
The airport personnel had never encountered anything like it, but they all pitched in to make sure Coole wouldn’t have to miss his important vacation.
Just in time for the pair to run to their gate before the doors closed, friends arrived and took up the young stowaway.
“The staff were awesome and helped organize getting our Candy home so we still made our flight,” Coole said.
After the unusual travel experience, Coole published photos of the ordeal on Facebook. His post has since gone viral with 4,500 likes and over 2,000 comments as of Wednesday.
Candy is now awaiting her parents’ safe return from the comfort of her home, while the Cooles are happy to have a cat-free 40th birthday trip.
