Half an hour into a crowded flight to Phoenix a couple of years ago, something brushed by my feet. It felt like a cat. But I said to myself, ”Wait a minute, I’m on a plane. They don’t have cats on planes.” I looked down, and sure enough, there was a medium-size black cat. It looked frightened.
I called the flight attendant and told her that there was a cat under my seat. She was obviously not a cat person, because she bent over and tried to pick it up. The cat scratched her hand and scurried away. She jumped back and lost her footing, nearly landing in a passenger’s lap. ”I hope the cat had all its shots,” I heard her say to no one in particular.
A few moments later, she announced: Would the cat’s owner please come forward?
No one responded.
I heard the flight attendants talking about the fact that there was no cat on the passenger manifest. They speculated it might be a stowaway. It took 10 minutes before a passenger finally ‘fessed up. It turns out that she had hidden the cat in a backpack, and it had clawed its way out.
Meanwhile, everyone on board was trying to capture the cat. Crew members were chasing it through the cabin and grabbing it, but it kept escaping. The cat became so anxious that it began soiling the carpet. The passengers who weren’t busy hunting the cat were complaining about the smell. Finally, the cat passed under my seat again and I was able to snatch it by the scruff of its neck. It was trembling and its eyes were about the size of large marbles. I handed the cat back to its owner, and it spent the rest of the flight locked in an economy-class restroom.
Some passengers stared at the owner, giving her a look of, ”What were you thinking?” Others were saying, ”Aw, poor kitty.” The owner kept saying over and over, ”I thought it would be O.K.”
Even though it was a morning flight, the flight attendants offered me a drink. I declined. I thought they needed one more than I did.
– Ellen Hurst
Half an hour into a crowded flight to Phoenix a couple of years ago, something brushed by my feet. It felt like a cat. But I said to myself, ”Wait a minute, I’m on a plane. They don’t have cats on planes.” I looked down, and sure enough, there was a medium-size black cat. It looked frightened.
I called the flight attendant and told her that there was a cat under my seat. She was obviously not a cat person, because she bent over and tried to pick it up. The cat scratched her hand and scurried away. She jumped back and lost her footing, nearly landing in a passenger’s lap. ”I hope the cat had all its shots,” I heard her say to no one in particular.
A few moments later, she announced: Would the cat’s owner please come forward?
No one responded.
I heard the flight attendants talking about the fact that there was no cat on the passenger manifest. They speculated it might be a stowaway. It took 10 minutes before a passenger finally ‘fessed up. It turns out that she had hidden the cat in a backpack, and it had clawed its way out.
Meanwhile, everyone on board was trying to capture the cat. Crew members were chasing it through the cabin and grabbing it, but it kept escaping. The cat became so anxious that it began soiling the carpet. The passengers who weren’t busy hunting the cat were complaining about the smell. Finally, the cat passed under my seat again and I was able to snatch it by the scruff of its neck. It was trembling and its eyes were about the size of large marbles. I handed the cat back to its owner, and it spent the rest of the flight locked in an economy-class restroom.
Some passengers stared at the owner, giving her a look of, ”What were you thinking?” Others were saying, ”Aw, poor kitty.” The owner kept saying over and over, ”I thought it would be O.K.”
Even though it was a morning flight, the flight attendants offered me a drink. I declined. I thought they needed one more than I did.
– Ellen Hurst
Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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