A cat who was lost after she escaped her cage on a United Airlines flight in late December 2006, was found in a cargo hold of the plane at Denver International Airport, the airline says.
The orange cat, named Pumpkin, survived extreme dehydration and malnourishment along with very cold temperatures during three weeks on the plane.
Pumpkin’s owner, Andrea Barlow, told Denver television station KUSA that she flew from Manchester, England, to Munich, Germany, and finally to Washington, D.C. on Dec. 28 and that the 12-year-old cat was lost when she changed planes in Munich.
When Barlow went to retrieve the carrier in Munich, Pumpkin’s crate was broken and empty. United says it searched for Pumpkin at the time but couldn’t find her.
On Jan. 17, 2007, United cargo employees found the cat in Denver and took her to the Alameda East Veterinary Clinic to get examined. David Gall, a veterinary intern at the clinic, said Pumpkin was hungry and dehydrated but mostly OK.
“The plan is we’re going to get Pumpkin better hydrated, make sure she’s stable and as soon as she’s clear to go, United’s going to pick her up, and as I understand it, one of the representatives from United is going to carry Pumpkin into the cabin with her, and hold her on her lap to get her back to her mom,” Gall told the Associated Press.