The spokeswoman for the Transportation Safety Administration explains in a tweet that you should not have your pet X-rayed and that it is a catastrophic mistake. She then spoke on CNN saying that the passenger must remove the animal from their suitcase and pass it through the metal detector as normal. She also adds: “This is typically how people travel with small dogs. In the case of a cat, if it is not on a leash, we strongly recommend that the passenger request a check in a private screening room… The correct way to do this was to remove the cat from the travel bag.”
Just when you thought it was safe to bring your pet cat on a trip. . . A traveler left their pet cat in its travel carrying case at a @TSA checkpoint this morning at @NorfolkAirport. Attention pet owners: Please do not send your pet through the X-ray unit. Cat-astrophic mistake! pic.twitter.com/tko6DP2vXx
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) March 3, 2023
More fear than harm in the end, the animal is doing well. Unfortunately, these are errors that frequently occur at airports.