Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. With lots of travelers come lots of baggage…the storage kind, not the personal kind. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) must get a lot of “free Christmas gifts” from all the contraband they confiscate during this time of year. Lighters, cigar cutters, pepper spray, knitting needles, nail files, liquids – their quest to keep us safe from the horrors of midair nail clipper threats leave them with a lot of “free” merchandise to pick through.

TSA agents in New York City got a surprise last week when they found something a bit more interesting than a forgotten bottle of water. As it turns out, a cat was discovered in a checked bag at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Even more interesting? It wasn’t the traveler’s cat, nor did he realize he was carrying cat contraband.

The incident took place Nov. 16, a TSA spokesperson told KTLA sister station WPIX on Tuesday. The cat went undetected until it the bag was passed through an X-ray unit, triggering an alarm and giving a “shock” to the on-duty TSA officer upon its discovery, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein wrote on Twitter.

The frisky feline belonged to another person who lived with the traveler, and must have jumped into the suitcase as it was being packed. The orange cat was then zipped up inside without anyone noticing. The traveler only knew of the incident when he was contacted by airport officials once through security.

The cat was unharmed, but a very special Thanksgiving lesson was learned by all:

If it fits, I sits, so zip before I sits!

The owner dint even know he wase missing till she got a phone call from TSA agents from JFK they ask her if she wants to press charge she dint and went home 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ pic.twitter.com/XPQMEIv9XN

— G_Giardina (@gjoegl) November 23, 2022