Published Jan 17, 2025
@alex / X.com
Well, this stinks!
A young woman’s holiday travel went awry when her black kitten, a 7-month-old named Oni, pooped in his carrier on a Southwest Airlines flight. His human, Alex, cleaned up the mess in the airplane lavatory, but this stinky incident got them booted from the connecting flight.
In Alex’s own words on her December 29 X post, viewed some 22.3 million times:
“Put a finger down if ur kitten pooped in his carrier on the plane bc he got scared of a rough landing & the crew was so angry about the smell that they kicked u off ur next flight and left u in a random city for 12 hrs and now ur rationing cat litter & food in a family bathroom.”
According to Business Insider, Alex said she took the carrier to the plane’s bathroom and cleaned up Oni’s accident with paper towels. Then, she asked a flight attendant for a trash bag. As it turned out, Alex’s connecting flight was on the same plane but with a new crew, and the bathroom was closed off due to the smell.
Alex said that a “hostile” flight attendant made her cry, an airline agent escorted her off the plane, and she was put on another plane to Los Angeles with another layover. She also got a $200 flight voucher.
Alex’s viral tweet got many sympathetic comments from pet lovers, but also a lot of criticism from people who think the airline did the right thing, and that Alex should not have been traveling with her kitten. Let’s face it: Our cats’, ahem, digestive products reek, and who wants to smell that on an enclosed airplane?
As one X user put it: “Valid reaction. I don’t want to smell a pet’s s@#$ for multiple hours in close quarters. Cat poop is PUNGENT.”
As much as we all love cats and sympathize with poor Oni, I have to agree that there are two valid sides to this unfortunate story. Of course a cat is going to be stressed when confined to a carrier in the unfamiliar environment of an airplane for hours, and no wonder the poor Oni had an accident!
Cats are creatures of habit and dislike changes like this. Dogs are generally more travel-friendly than cats. I travel frequently and, while I miss my furbabies, I can’t imagine they would enjoy being packed up and going with me, and their stress wouldn’t be any fun for me, either; it’s stressful enough for us both as it is just driving 10 miles to the vet! I have a pet sitter who cares for them in my home. I don’t recommend traveling for fun with a cat, because it is usually not fun.
That said, some cats are more laid-back and adventurous than others, and there are some situations – like leaving for a very long period, or relocating a very long distance – where taking a cat on an airplane might be justified.
New Africa / Shutterstock.com
Although the best advice for traveling with a cat might be pre-empting it with a “don’t do it,” we offer The Complete Guide to Flying with Your Cat. To summarize this highly informative article, flying with your cat – if you determine that the circumstances, like emigration, justify it – requires preparation. It’s important to research the airline’s policies about pets. Most airlines will allow cats in a carrier in the passenger cabin. We do not recommend flying with an airline that requires pets to go to the cargo cabin below, as that is seriously stressful for animals.
We recommend consulting with your veterinarian and possibly getting medications to make the journey easier. Should you sedate your cat before flying? Maybe. I had to sedate my cats for cross-country moves in my car, since the first time was miserable for everyone. We address the issue in our Should You Sedate a Cat for Travel? Article.
MarinaTR/Shutterstock.com
It is also important to have a sturdy but soft and comfortable carrier for flying with your cat. Introduce your cat to the carrier long before your flight, so your cat can get comfortable with it. We reviewed one carrier that is specifically made for air travel with cats: the Sleepypod Air In-Cabin Pet Carrier. The Sleepypod company offers these 7 Tips on How to Travel Better with Your Cat in a sponsored article.
