ABU DHABI // The search for Felix, the cat who went missing after landing in New York City following a flight from Abu Dhabi, is set to resume on Saturday.
Felix, a rescue cat from Abu Dhabi, has been lost at John F Kennedy International Airport since his crate was crushed open during ground transportation by JFK handlers on April 1.
The cat’s owner, former Abu Dhabi resident Jennifer Stewart, said she is keeping her hopes up that Felix will be found.
“Our friends keep saying, ‘Well, he’s found you before, he’ll find you again,” said Ms Stewart, who moved back to the US with her husband Joseph Naaman after living in the capital for about three and a half years.
Ms Stewart said she found Felix on the steps outside her Abu Dhabi high-rise.
“I saw this beautiful, tiny little cat and he came up and started purring around my foot,” said Ms Stewart. “Weeks earlier, we had talked about adopting a cat, and I was like, if it finds us and wandered upon us and it was meant to be, then we’ll commit.”
Ms Stewart said the thought that her cat was able to survive the streets of Abu Dhabi offered her comfort that he could make it out of JFK airport.
___________________________________________________________
Special report: Pet travel
■ Summer is peak season for animal exports, but also most challenging
■ Getting your pets in or out of the UAE with professional help
■ UAE pet owners turn to luxury travel for pampered animals
___________________________________________________________
“After we checked JFK, I was like he’s kind of a surviving cat, he’s not a house-born cat,” said Ms Stewart. “He could figure it out. That’s the only peace of mind I’ve got.”
Jeff Pierce, a litigation fellow with the animal rights law organisation Animal Legal Defence Fund, said when it comes pets lost, injured or killed while under the care of an airline, the rules are such that the animal is treated “no different from your suitcase or your golf clubs.”
“Cats and dogs and other pets shipped on planes are considered cargo, which is one of the major shortcomings in protections afforded to animals in transit that the Animal Legal Defense Fund has sought to change,” said Mr Pierce.
“Since the airlines handle cargo, the airline would be responsible for losing Felix, assuming the owners could show that the cage was intact when they handed their cat over to the airline.”
Ms Stewart said the animal carrier she purchased for Felix had been vet-approved, but rejected by Etihad Cargo for being too small and not meeting the specifications of International Air Transport Association.
At the airport, she was sold a carrier by an on-site veterinarian who helped her husband assemble it on the spot. This carrier was approved by the airline and sometimes after landing in New York, its roof collapsed from the pressure of a strap around the crate, Ms Stewart said. That’s when the cat is believed to have escaped into the cargo area of the airport.
The couple spent Dh4,400 for Felix’s plane ticket, Dh1,600 for veterinarian fees in preparation for the trip, Dh540 for the replacement crate and another Dh320 charged by the vet at the airport for a “transportation fee,” even though the owners took Felix to the airport.
Mary Beth Melchior, founder of the pet travel advocacy group Where Is Jack?, is posting updates about Felix on the Facebook Page, called Jack The Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK.
She said it is always better for people to be with their pets in any travel situation.
“No one will advocate for your pets the way you do — and you must be prepared to advocate for them in every part of the journey,” said Ms Melchior. “Thee most common mistake pet owners make when travelling by air with an animal is assuming that ‘the experts’ will take care of their pets. No matter what any airline tells you about how advanced their pet care is, they do not care about your pet the way that you do.”
Ms Stewart says she hopes something positive comes out of her experience.
“I think for our situation, unfortunately, there were a lot of mistakes along the way, but overall, if there’s anything that can come out of this, it’s that there’s just better transportation options for these pets. They’re not a box of old shoes or whatever that you’re transporting. It’s a live animal, so it should be treated with some sort of standards and measures.”
Etihad Airways said that it was reviewing its pet-handling policies after the incident. The vice president of Etihad Cargo has also been in contact with Mr Naaman.
rpennington@thenational.ae
