Cat Racks Up Frequent Flyer Mileage

February 5, 2008

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - A Florida family had quite the scare when their new cat went missing two weeks ago. The kitten ended up in Texas. Through a bizarre series of events, the cat was found 1,300 miles away from home.

10-month-old tabby cat Gracie Mae does not have a passport, but still has quite the traveling tale. While packing for a recent business trip to Texas, owner Seth Levy had no idea Gracie Mae had hopped into his suitcase.

“I just closed up the bag and put it in the trunk and took off, so I didn’t even consider that that was possible,” Levy said.

When his wife Kelly realized Gracie was missing that night, she tore apart their Florida home looking for the little kitty.

“I was literally panicking,” she recalled, “I was crying, I was upset, I was pacing around the house, ripping things out. My Dad came over and we took the paneling out of the bathroom and started pulling out insulation and tapped on things to see if we could hear her. No Gracie.”

While stowed-away in the bag, Gracie Mae went undetected through security X-ray machines in Florida, loaded onto an airplane, and dropped down onto a luggage conveyor belt in Dallas Texas.

“I can’t even imagine what it was like for her flying in the belly of the plane. I read an article where they said it gets zero or less and the only way they could explain that she was OK, was there was heat in the bag and she was covered by clothes,” he said.

To make matters even more interesting, another traveler mistakenly picked up Seth Levy’s suitcase at the Dallas airport. And when he got the bag home, the stranger got quite the surprise when Gracie Mae jumped out of the bag.

That kind stranger reunited Seth Levy with Gracie Mae in Texas. The pair flew back home to Florida together, this time Gracie Mae made the trip in a pet carrier, not a suitcase.

“She at this point in my life is like my baby. I would have been devastated if I’d never see her again.”

Gracie Mae’s story has captivated audiences across the nation; she’s made an appearance on “Good Morning America” and will be featured on “The Ellen Degeneres Show.”

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