Pet cat bound for Madrid goes missing at KIA, found after 10 days

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A five-year-old cat that went missing at the Kempegowda International Airport has been found after ten days of intense search. The cat, Freida, went missing on November 23, when it was supposed to fly to Madrid on a Qatar Airways flight to be reunited with her owners.

Kelly Johnson, a local pet shelter owner, was taking three pets, including two dogs Zoeybee and Simba, to Madrid via Doha to reunite them with their pet parents, Howard James Scott and Paula, who had recently moved to Madrid from Bengaluru.

Kelly had finished the required animal and security procedures and had handed over the pets scheduled to board. However, just before boarding, she was informed that Freida had gone missing from her sealed cage. Freida was found after a joint search by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and nearly 20 volunteers.

She was seen in CCTV footage roaming around one of the VIP lounges on the airport premises and was later found hiding under a staircase of CISF officers lounge. Howard James Scott and Paula are now returning to India to take their beloved pet back home. The cat is currently running a fever due to the stress it endured in the last few days, her caretaker has said.

The pet parents alleged the ground staff had failed to secure the cage after security clearance and before boarding the cage onto the cargo belly of the aircraft. The pet parents had lived in Bengaluru for 15 years and relocated in September. Howard said they had rescued the kitten after she fell off a tall building in Kadubeesanahalli and suffered life-threatening injuries.

He said that they were looking forward to reuniting with their pets and were heartbroken when they got to know that Freida had gone missing.