Stowaway cat survived plane ride and 10 hours in suitcase

Bob-bob the cat wasn't about to let his owner go to the Happiest Place on Earth without him. So he went along — in her suitcase. Days before her annual Disney trip, Ethel Maze of Circleville, Ohio, went through the familiar steps of confirming flight and hotel reservations for her group of 18 disabled veterans and volunteers and calling in help to care for her six pets. Bob-bob had no intention of staying behind.



Early on Monday, as Maze — who runs the Maze Residential Care Home for disabled veterans — did some last-minute packing, the 14-month-old kitty sneaked into her bag. Mike Groleau, the group's designated "baggage handler," said he thought he saw the bag wiggle.

But after a long night of packing, he slapped some tags on the front and back of the suitcase and loaded it with the rest. "This was the last bag I grabbed," Groleau said. "Somehow it got zipped up." Ten hours later, as the group settled into its Disney-area hotel, Maze unzipped the bag, and there was Bob-bob, a little shaken but still purring.


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It wasn't clear how Bob-bob got through Transportation Security Administration screeners at Port Columbus International Airport. "Our machines are very sensitive to picking up explosives and other threats to aviation," said Sari Koshetz, a TSA spokeswoman. "We're just wondering how he got through the X-rays without being seen," Maze said.