A Vancouver woman is pleading with WestJet to find one of her two cats, after the animal went missing in Vancouver airport’s cargo area.
Kelli Seepaul had planned to move to Toronto on Thursday, taking her two cats, Finnegan, a tabby, and Willow, a Siamese, with her.
She was about to board her plane when the airline paged her to say both cats had escaped, after ground handlers picked up their kennel and the bottom fell out of it.
Seepaul helped staff search for the animals in Vancouver airport’s baggage area and Finnegan was found, but after four hours Willow was still missing and Seepaul had to fly to Toronto.
Both cats were abused before Seepaul rescued them from the Squamish SPCA in March. Now she’s worried she’ll never see Willow again.
“They were just leaving out food, hoping she would come out and they would catch her and I explained that you can’t just pick her up and catch her because she’s an abused cat,” she said.
“I just don’t know if they’re doing enough. Their priority isn’t to find my cats but it’s to do other things and I just … my priority is to find my cat that they lost.”
WestJet says it’s doing everything it can to recover the animal and called the incident extremely rare.
In the meantime, Seepaul says she’s not alone in her distress — Finnegan is worried too.
“They’re always together — so he’s walking around the apartment calling for her.”
西捷航空（WestJet）在温哥华国际机场为一名多伦多旅客寻找一苹失踪的猫。
希保尔（Kelli Seepaul）说，她3日在温哥华机场正在等候登机前往多伦多时，听到广播说她的猫不见了。她有两苹猫托运，但地勤人员提它们时，因为猫笼底部脱落，使它们逃脱。希保尔协助地勤人员在机场的行李区找到其中一苹叫作Finnegan的猫，但是另一苹Willow找了四小时还找不到。希保尔登机时间已到，只好弃Willow而走。
希保尔表示这两苹猫原本都是被人虐待并弃养的猫，Willow是暹罗猫，到现在仍很怕生。
西捷航空表示会竭尽全力寻回这苹猫，并与当地的人道团体合作找寻。航空公司5日发表声明说∶「我们已在尽全力找寻Willow。」西捷航空说，许多机构组织和数百名机场人员都已加入搜寻行动。
A Toronto pet owner is hoping WestJet will find one of her two cats after the feline went missing in Vancouver International Airport’s cargo area.
Kelli Seepaul said she was paged at Vancouver airport on Thursday about her two cats, Finnigan and Willow, while she was waiting to board her flight to Toronto.
Kelli Seepaul’s cat Willow went missing before boarding a WestJet flight from Vancouver to Toronto.
“I instantly panicked. I started to cry. I mean they aren’t just pets. Anyone who has a pet or loves animals knows that they are a part of your family,” Seepaul told CTV Toronto.
Seepaul helped airport staff with the search and Finnigan was eventually found, but Willow remains missing.
“I obviously missed my flight and waited in the airport for a long time trying to find her and I cried the whole time,” Seepaul said. “I’m just really worried about her. I know she’s scared and hungry.”
She said her two adopted pets had come from homes where they were abused and that Willow, a Siamese cat, is still shy.
“She’s much friendlier with me now but I still can’t pick her up,” she said.
Seepaul said the two cats were stowed in a brand new carrier that she had specifically purchased for her move to Toronto.
WestJet says they are continuing to search for the cat and they are working with the local humane society in their efforts.
“All possible efforts are being made to find Willow, ” the airline said in a statement on Saturday. WestJet said a number of agencies and hundreds of airport workers are looking for the missing cat.
Meanwhile, Seepaul said she continues to worry about Willow, and even Finnigan is missing her.
“(He) has been calling for her,” she said.
A similar situation took place last week at a Winnipeg airport, after a cat escaped from his carrier in an Air Canada’s cargo area.
“I got a phone call from the cargo people and they told me that we have some bad news to tell you,” Pat Torlen told CTV Toronto. “Lightning has escaped from his carrier and we don’t know exactly where (he is.)”
After a five day search that involved spraying the airport grounds with tuna juice, Lightning was reunited with his owner.