Lost B.C.-bound cat gets 1st class flight home

CTV Vancouver: Chester the cat gets home A Scottish Fold kitten that spent a month in Montreal's airport after being lost by Air Canada has finally arrived home.

A Scottish Fold kitten that spent a month in Montreal’s airport after being lost by Air Canada has finally arrived home.

Cloverdale, B.C., resident Amanda Stewart bought the lop-eared cat from a Montreal breeder months ago. The animal was checked in for a Vancouver-bound flight on May 21, only to vanish in the cargo area before being loaded onto the plane.

Coordinated searches in the area turned up no sign of the tiny kitten until June 17, when he was found dehydrated on Montreal airport grounds, but otherwise in good health.

“I thought he would be a lot worse for wear, he didn't even have a scratch on him,” said Stewart.

He just arrived to Vancouver by plane Friday, in a first-class flight accompanied by a handler. The cat is now resting at Stewart’s home.

“I’m still in shock that he is finally here,” Stewart told CTV News after the homecoming. “It’s been over a month. I’m so glad that he’s okay and that he’s home.”

The mother-of-three is disappointed about how Air Canada handled the disappearance: She learned her cat was found from watching a newscast, but said she never heard from the airline.

“I always felt like I was the last to know, when I felt like they should have done more to contact me,” she said.

The airline is reimbursing Chester’s breeder, who paid for shipping the cat to B.C. Air Canada also paid for a new pet carrier and a veterinarian checkup.

After a long month spent wandering somewhere around Montreal’s airport, the cat seems to be settling in well with his new family, and home.

"He’s a very lucky, lucky cat... probably got eight lives left,” Stewart said. “He’s going to be spoiled.”

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Scott Hurst