Today Show video Cat in a bag

Stowaway kitty reunited with her family
Familys pet cat takes flight in suitcase, which is then grabbed by mistake

By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 11:38 a.m. ET Jan. 25, 2008
You know the old cliché about letting the cat out of the bag? Take Robert Carters word for it when he tells you its not something youd want to try at home.

The Fort Worth, Texas, man told TODAYs Al Roker on Friday about how he learned the hard way last week when he mistakenly picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport. Inside was 10-month-old Gracie Mae, who had curled up in her owners suitcase in Florida and ended up going on the ride of her life.

After being tossed in the car, dumped on a baggage belt, X-rayed by the TSA, piled in a cargo hold, flown 1,300 miles from her home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., dumped on a conveyor belt, taken for a ride on a carousel, and tossed into another car, Gracie Mae wasnt in the best frame of mind when Carter opened the suitcase at his home.

She looks cute now, but she was all teeth and fangs at that point, said Carter, who admitted, I screamed like a little girl when Gracie Mae erupted from the suitcase.

That was last Friday night. At about the same time, Kelly Levy was crying like a grown woman after having turned her house upside down searching for her Gracie Mae. She had taken her husband, Seth Levy, to the airport for a business trip, and returned home expecting to find Gracie Mae waiting for her.

When I come home, Gracies always on the bottom of the staircase, and she wasnt there, she told Roker as she and her husband cuddled Gracie Mae in the TODAY Show studio. But she just got spayed on Monday, so I thought maybe she was up in bed, and I went upstairs, but she wasnt there and my two-hour search began.

Meanwhile, her husband was flying to Dallas, unaware that he had packed his 10-month-old pet in his suitcase. His bag happened to be identical to Carters bag and both arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth at about the same time. Carter grabbed Levys bag, and Levy went to his hotel thinking his bag had been lost.

I picked up my two bags and one of them was mine and one of them wasnt, Carter said. I opened up the bag and realized these arent my clothes, so I gotta go back to the airport. I go to close the bag, and Gracie Mae jumps out.

Good night, kitty
It was Friday night and Gracie wasnt interested in making acquaintances right then. She flew under the bed and seemed intent on staying there, so Carter turned in, figuring he could deal with her in the morning.

He had thought about keeping the cat and even had a name picked out — Suitcase. But when he finally coaxed Gracie out of hiding, he discovered a tag on her collar that listed the Levys phone number.

Kelly Levy had already papered the neighborhood with Lost Cat signs, and, with her fathers help, had removed bathroom tiles and cabinetry in her frantic search for her pet. Thats when her phone rang.

Hi, you're not going to believe this, but I am calling from Fort Worth, Texas, and I accidentally picked up your husband's luggage. And when I opened the luggage, a cat jumped out, Carter told her.

Kelly Levy immediately text-messaged her husband, who was in a seminar, to tell him, The cats in Dallas. He and Carter made contact, Carter bought a pet carrier and they met at the airport on Sunday, when Seth Levy flew home with his cat — this time paying the $80 fare for more comfortable accommodations.

The Levys were left to ponder how a cat could go through airport security and baggage scans and not be discovered.

I didnt think it was possible, Seth Levy said.

Category:

Pets & Animals

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[danhmiller]

What the fuck is wrong with the guys who is holding the cat??? Look at his face at 00:59. He looks like he has something really important to say but then his face just changes to a look of "I want you"...........It fucking creeps me out..... he looks like a serial killer.

[Frankjc3rd]

This was a random unannounced proficiency (sic?) test for the TSA and they didn't pass. A live cat was let through and not noticed! I wonder what else got through that day.

[andypeluche96]

@bonafidesser did you acctually watched the video? MISTAKE!!!

[snake2006]

@bonafidesser

The cat wasn't suppose to be in the bag idiot. She managed to get into the bag without their notice and then he took off, not checking.



[jimdoug767]

that black guy is a dick.

[gregstoner1369]

@bonafidesser IDIOT ! Did you freaking WATCH the video ? IT WAS A MISTAKE YOU PUTZ !

WOW - people are so freaking swift to judge others by their own twisted set of rules, yet refuse to actually get the whole story. How sad.

LUCKY kitty !

[bonafidesser]

The cat could have choked inside the suitcase, not to mention the very low temps and no pressurizing in the luggage section of the plane. Are 80 bucks worth risking an animal's life like that ? Planes have a special pressurized compartment for animal transport. Next time don't be so cheap.