The anxiety of Astha Shah, mother of the pet, and the great adventure of her cat Nala, came to an end last Friday.
Airport security tracked down the eight-month-old feline, who, after being loaded onto an Air India flight from Bengaluru on September 1, managed to slip out of his box into the plane’s cargo belly, stealing from the building of the terminal and wander around the airport. for four days, before she was rescued and reunited with her family.
An official with the Delhi-based NGO Wildlife SOS, which helped track Nala, said Shah was traveling with her two cats to Delhi on the Air India flight.
“Both cats were being transported in certified pet cages. When the plane landed in Delhi, the passenger was informed that one of the cats disappeared from its carrier during transit at Indira Gandhi International Airport.
“Our investigations revealed that the pet carrier in which Nala was placed had fallen apart in the cargo compartment of the plane. The cat had slipped away and was lost in the vast facilities of the Delhi airport,” said a spokesman for Wildlife SOS. When Shah was told that Nala was missing, she canceled her trip to Ahmedabad and stayed in Delhi to help find the cat.
“The airport authorities immediately began a search for the missing cat. Wildlife SOS also assisted with the search operation by placing food baits at various locations within the airport to lure Nala. After four days of tracking the cat, they finally located her in the cargo area of the airport, ”said the spokesperson.
Even after she was tracked down, the Wildlife SOS team took hours to remove the terrified and starving Nala from the cargo facility before meeting with Shah, the spokesperson added.
Shah, who lives in Bengaluru, said the cats are her family and the incident left her in tears. “Domestic cats struggle to survive on their own for a long time. The last few days have been extremely stressful, but I received a lot of support from the animal community, Air India staff, the airport authorities and the airport operator. This incident showed me that compassion is not dead and that people will still go the extra mile to help a stranger who is desperately searching for her beloved pet, ”Shah told Wildlife SOS.
Air India also said the airline was delighted that Nala is now safe with her pet father.
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