Montreal woman searches for cat last seen at Toronto Pearson airport

A Montreal woman, Abir Batikhi, is urgently seeking assistance to locate her cat, Caramel, after the animal went missing during a journey from Jordan to Canada over two weeks ago. Caramel, a seven-year-old cat, was among four cats traveling with Batikhi on a non-stop flight from Jordan to Canada on August 17. All four cats were secured in cages prior to departure.

However, upon arriving in Montreal and collecting the animals, Batikhi discovered that one cage was empty. She was informed by airport officials that Caramel had been observed in the cargo hold when the aircraft arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport, where the flight had made a stop before continuing to Montreal. The last confirmed sighting of the cat was of it escaping onto the airport ramp area near Terminal 3 and running towards gates 29 and 30.

Batikhi, who has cared for Caramel since the cat's birth, is worried the pet might be hiding and struggling to survive due to fear and starvation. Despite contacting airport authorities multiple times, Batikhi remains frustrated with the lack of progress in finding her pet. A spokesperson for Toronto Pearson revealed that wildlife crews are conducting daily sweeps of the airport, setting humane live-capture traps, and alerting ground crews to watch for the missing animal.

Pet transportation company Paws En Route CEO, Dacia Rohlehr, stated that escaped animal incidents during air travel are rare, with only 0.01 percent of the four million pets that travel annually experiencing issues. Strict regulations are in place to minimize the risk of animals escaping during transport, including secure kennel doors.

Batikhi confirms that the cages were secured with zip ties before departure and inspected before the flight. She is unsure whether Caramel escaped during the flight or after the aircraft landed.