Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
The grey-coloured British shorthair arrived on an Air Transat flight from Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday morning, but when the cat’s owner went to pick it up in the baggage claim area, Kevin was nowhere to be seen.
“It was such a heartbreak," Whitby resident Jackie Winterfield told CP24.com.
“We had no idea if he was dead or alive."
The feline in question belongs to Winterfield’s 22-year-old daughter, Emily, who had been living abroad for the last three years.
Winterfield said that once she got off the plane Emily went to grab her cat from the baggage claim area but “found (the carrier) empty on the baggage carousel.”
For the next six hours, Winterfield's daughter scoured the airport for Kevin, but eventually went home empty-handed and distraught, she said.
Then, early Wednesday morning, the family got a call from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which manages Pearson: Kevin had been found and turned into the Canada Border Services Agency.
It is not clear where the cat spent the previous 72 hours, but Winterfield told CP24.com that an agent informed her that the animal had been found on the runway.
Winterfield said Kevin was returned to them hungry, thirsty, tired, and covered in black soot, but she noted that after a good bath, a long nap, and some food and water he seems to be fine.
“It’s a mostly happy ending,” Winterfield said.
Kevin the cat during happier times. The feline went missing at Pearson Airport on April 14 after arriving on a flight from Scotland. he waws found three days later on the runway. (Supplied)
In a statement provided to CP24.com, Air Transat said that they “regret the unfortunate mishap that occurred during Kevin's journey from Glasgow to Toronto.”
“Air Transat takes the care and safety of all transported pets very seriously, and we deeply sympathize with the distress this has caused Kevin's owner, spokesperson Bernard Côté wrote in an email.
“We want to assure you that our team did everything possible to locate Kevin once we were notified of his escape."
Issues began before takeoff: mother
Winterfield said their troubles with Air Transat began before the flight departed Scotland.
The Whitby mother said her daughter had gone out of her way to ensure the cat made it back home to Canada safely, going so far as to buy a special soft-sided carrier and pre-paying for the pet to ride next to her in the cabin.
However, on the day of travel, she said that the airline refused to allow the animal inside the cabin of the aircraft citing “an issue with the carrier.”
Instead, Kevin was offered a spot in the cargo bay, she said.
Winterfield said that her daughter’s partner had to hurriedly purchase a new, hard-sided carrier for Kevin before the flight took off. They were also charged an additional 200 British pounds at that time, she said.
“It was so ridiculous,” said Winterfield.
“It’s just shocking to see how negligent this airline can be."
The family says they have since spoken with a lawyer and are considering taking legal action.
According to the GTAA, “travelling pets” are welcome at Pearson.
Spokesperson Fabrice de Dongo offered the following advice for owners:
“While their transportation is the responsibility of each airline, we remind passengers that, for their safety and comfort, pets must be kept inside their carriers at all times. We also ask travellers to let their airline know - when they are booking their flight - that they plan to travel with their pet,” he wrote in a statement provided to CP24.
“With all the necessary information in hand, each airline will be able to advise on the size of carrier needed, as well as any required travel documents. … Again, Air Transat and/or individual airlines are best placed to speak to their policies and guidelines.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6977053.1721909931!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
DEVELOPING Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
An unwelcome attendee has joined the Paris Olympic Games: COVID-19
After a handful of Australian water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 this week, questions have emerged around how the spread of the disease will be mitigated at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.