Jack the Cat Found at JFK Airport
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(Photo credit: Facebook)
Jack the cat, who has been missing for over seven weeks after getting lost in the American Airlines baggage check area at New York’s JFK airport, has been found.
“American Airlines is happy to announce that Jack the Cat has been found safe and well at JFK airport. American’s team of airport employees have been focused on the search effort since Jack escaped on August 25, 2011. Jack was found in the customs room and was immediately taken by team members to a local veterinarian. The vet has advised that Jack is doing well at present,”
a statement on the airline’s Facebook page read.
Jack’s owner, Karen Pascoe, was immediately informed Tuesday that her pet was found, and according to the statement American will fly Jack to California to be reunited with his owner.
The “Jack The Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK” Facebook page has more than 15,000 followers and is frequently updated — sometimes several times a day. Every post elicits dozens, sometimes hundreds, of comments from outraged and sympathetic supporters.
Jack disappeared on Aug. 25 when his owner, Karen Pascoe, was traveling from New York to California. She dropped her two cats off in their kennels at baggage services and soon received a call from an American Airlines agent telling her that one of her cats was missing and they believed he was in the inbound baggage claim area.
A Department of Transportation Pet Incident Report released Oct. 13 revealed exactly how Jack was lost. Each of Pascoe’s cats was in its own kennel, which a clerk stacked one on top of the other. The top kennel fell and Jack escaped.
October 22 was Jack the Cat Awareness day at Kennedy Airport. The goal of the event was to spread awareness about Jack to the airport’s more than 37,000 employees.
ABC News’ Christina Ng contributed to this report
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That’s funny. I wonder what he had been eating all that time, and why no one noticed a cat wandering around?
Posted by: Catwoman | October 26, 2011, 2:20 am 2:20 am
If you follow the Facebook page, there have been several other cats at JFK that were found in the process of locating Jack – these cats have been brought to the shelter, so ADOPT A SHELTER PET
Following Jack’s search on Facebook, you will find that he was severly dehydrated, etc. so he probably has not eaten or drank anything most of the time he has been missing
Posted by: Melanie | October 26, 2011, 6:41 am 6:41 am
@Catwoman- Considering there were several cats living around the airport, not seeing one specific cat doesn’t seem too impossible, not to mention the hundreds of hiding places an airport has to offer. They’ve also had food placed around the airport for some time now. I’m sure he just managed like most stray cats.
I’m so happy that he was found. This is probably the best news I’ve heard all week.
Posted by: Hoorayforkitties | October 26, 2011, 8:03 am 8:03 am
>^.,.^< = <3
Posted by: Christine | October 26, 2011, 8:15 am 8:15 am
and what was this cat eating all this time? Obviously no one was feeding him, no one saw him, and what could he find in customs to eat? Drugs a cant cant and wont eat, contraband, like sausages and various sundry meats are probably eaten by the staff and they would not leave anything for the Rats….ah….and now we have stumbled on to the likely answer!!!! See how the dialectic really does reveal new knowledge not thought of before…..RATS! So Jack was probably feasting on Rats! After all it is New York and if there is one thing New York City is famous for is its…RATS!
Posted by: Mugabonda ^lopile | October 26, 2011, 8:53 am 8:53 am
I am very happy for safe return of Jack the cat..
Posted by: Lisa Chen | October 26, 2011, 9:38 am 9:38 am
Hearing that great news really made my day!
Posted by: Kathy M. | October 26, 2011, 9:46 am 9:46 am
ABC what a perfect time for you to do some investigating reporting on the plight of animals that are flown in the cargo hold of airliners. Many were not aware of the dangers and cruelty of transporting pets this way, until AA lost Jack. Reporting on this horrible practice and helping to educate the public would be doing a great service to pet owners and pets. So many pet owners do not have a clue as to what they are doing when they transport pets via cargo hold. The airlines certainly do not take steps to make them aware of the dangers and how cruel it is to put an animal in the cargo hold. I wonder if any airline executives have every traveled in the cargo hold to get a true idea of what it is really like.
Posted by: Marcia | October 26, 2011, 10:14 am 10:14 am
Yay!!!!! I am so happy that Jack was found! The Jack the Cat Awareness Day must have helped. His owner must be so relieved. I am praying for a speedy recovery for Jack! And I have to say he is one adorable,fluffy cat :)
Posted by: Mia | October 26, 2011, 10:31 am 10:31 am
That’s awesome.
Posted by: Ed | October 26, 2011, 10:34 am 10:34 am
I am SO glad that Jack was found, and will be ok. I agree that this is a GREAT opportunity for ABC to take an investigative approach to this and see just how badly animals are treated by airlines.
Posted by: FriendofJack | October 26, 2011, 10:47 am 10:47 am
Flying him back home??????? REALLY?????? That is how he was lost in the first place…
Posted by: laurel | October 26, 2011, 10:54 am 10:54 am
So apparently even though there is a live animal in a crate the baggage handlers still don’t care enough to handle them with care. If AA only allows animals to fly in cargo, they need to make better accommodations for them! They make enough money so that they can designate an area in cargo, that is climate controlled and safe!
Posted by: Nuria | October 26, 2011, 11:38 am 11:38 am
So happy Jack has been found. But I agree with FriendofJack…American flying him home?!?!?!?!??! I would fly to NY to get him and American could fly us both back home FIRST CLASS! No flying back in baggage for Jack!
Posted by: Fan of Jack | October 26, 2011, 11:43 am 11:43 am
Hooray for Jack the Cat! I’m so pleased he was found and will be reunited with his family.
Posted by: pam | October 26, 2011, 1:01 pm 1:01 pm
I have pets and would not travel with them if at all possible. It is very scary and upsetting for pets to be in crates in the first place, much less stuck in a cargo hold where it is cold (or hot), without the comfort of the owner close by. Maybe next time, Jack and his buddy cat can be left at home with someone to come in and care for them. If it is a move from one state to another, maybe go by train and take the pet with you.
Posted by: carolyn | October 26, 2011, 3:19 pm 3:19 pm
A great big thank you to the Custom and Border Patrol Officer who rescued Jack after he fell
through the ceiling tiles inside a Custom and Border Patrol room at Terminal 8. The Custom and Border Patrol then called AA to tell them they found Jack.
Posted by: Marcia | October 26, 2011, 4:54 pm 4:54 pm
I FLEW FROM ANCHORAGE TO DALLAS IN 2003 AND CARRIED MY CAT AS MY CARRYON, THE SECURITY JUST GRABBED THE SOFTSIDED CARRIER, THREW IT UP ON THE TABLE AND STARTED TO JUST REACH IN IT AND YANK MY CAT OUT. I TOLD THE SECURITY PERSON THAT MY CAT WAS SCARED OF STRANGERS, WHICH HE WAS, SO THEY LET ME TAKE HIM OUT OF THE CARRIER SO THEY COULD SCAN IT, IF THEY WERE GOING TO TREAT HIM LIKE THAT RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF ME, I DO NOT WANT TO IMAGINE WHAT THEY DO TO THE PETS WHEN WE CAN NOT SEE THEM…
Posted by: DOXIEMOM | October 26, 2011, 4:58 pm 4:58 pm
A great big thank you to the Custom and Border Patrol Officer who rescued Jack after he fell through the ceiling tiles inside a Custom and Border Patrol room at Terminal 8. The Custom and Border Patrol called AA after finding Jack.
Posted by: Marcia | October 26, 2011, 4:58 pm 4:58 pm
“A Department of Transportation Pet Incident Report released Oct. 13 revealed exactly how Jack was lost. Each of Pascoe’s cats was in its own kennel, which a clerk stacked one on top of the other. The top kennel fell and Jack escaped.”, excuse me but “…The top kennel fell and Jack escaped” does not reveal exactly how Jack was able to walk out of his cat carrier. I hope the DOT Report goes into more detail than this because it’s an unacceptable response. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad he was found, but I think their analysis needs to go a little deeper, if this was as far as they got in their report.
Posted by: Glenn | October 26, 2011, 5:43 pm 5:43 pm
This really bothers me because it downplays American Airlines’ involvement with HOW he was lost. It makes it sound like he just went missing. They cause it to happen. And if you REALLY read their carefully-crafted statement, you will see that they made it appear as if their employees found him. They did not. And no where does it talk about the volunteers who stepped up to give this story exposure, notify local animal hospitals and neighborhood businesses and spent countless hours wading through filthy brush and terrain to personally look for Jack. It even makes it sound like Jack the Cat Awareness Days were the brain-child of JFK or even AA. It was not sponsored – it was completely planned, communicated and executed by volunteers who were fed up with the lack of action on the part of the airline.
Posted by: Diana | October 26, 2011, 8:20 pm 8:20 pm
Jack found himself! AA had nothing whatsoever to do with his rescue. If it hadn’t been for the persistence of the FoJ on Facebook, the customs officer could very well have NOT known about Jack and he might not have notified AA. It’s for sure and certain that AA did not do all they could have done. And now the poor cat is in vet ICU with a feeding tube because he’s malnourished.
The AA people who took Jack to the vet wouldn’t even speak to the FoJs who went there at Karen’s request.
Posted by: Julia | October 27, 2011, 12:08 am 12:08 am
Thank you for reporting on this! And thanks to Karen, Bonnie, Nicole, and all the wonderful people who gathered together at JFK and all of Jack’s friends on Facebook who SPREAD THE WORD so that Jack could be found. THANK YOU to the people who found Jack. Would love to see an interview with them about how Jack was spotted and what the employees knew of his disappearance, etc. There’s a great story here.
Posted by: Amy | October 27, 2011, 12:13 am 12:13 am
Jack didn’t eat/drink much of anythng. Apparently he was in the HVAC/ducts. He has a long road to recovery and isn’t out of the woods yet.
Posted by: JackRocks | October 27, 2011, 10:20 am 10:20 am
Wow that is amazing that Jack was found,i am glad he was found and will be reunited with his owner. I do not know what i would do if i lost one of my precious pets in an airport.
Posted by: Raven | October 28, 2011, 2:24 pm 2:24 pm
Sadly Jack passed away earlier today. The wounds on his back were so severe and he was so malnourished that he was unable to heal them himself and there wasn’t enough skin for him to heal properly. According to the vet it was like having 50-60% of his skin covered in severe burns.
After hearing this tragic story I will never transport any of my animals via plane. I don’t care if they release a press conference about how they’ll ensure the safety of my pets — obviously their workers are careless otherwise it wouldn’t have taken 7 weeks to find him.
Posted by: Jessica | November 6, 2011, 11:21 pm 11:21 pm