Airline passengers wait to re-enter Terminal 8 at the John F Kennedy. (Reuters)
NEW YORK – It's the case of the missing tabby.
A 4-year-old cat named Xiaohwa escaped her carrier at John F. Kennedy Airport last week and remains missing.
She was to board a flight to Taiwan last Thursday to be reunited with her owner, Iris Yu.
Yu left for Taiwan 10 months ago.
A friend was bringing the cat to her.
Xiaohwa bolted from her crate as a Transportation Security Administration officer was inspecting her crate at Terminal 4.
Yu's boyfriend says he's afraid the tabby can't survive long without care because she has an illness called feline immunodeficiency virus.
The TSA said in a statement that its agents screened the pet and its carrier properly. It reminded passengers they're responsible for their pets throughout the screening process.
Xiaohwa's disappearance comes months after Jack the Cat made headlines and more than 24,000 Facebook friends last year after escaping from a pet carrier in Terminal 4 at JFK Airport. After a two-month search, Jack fell through a ceiling panel in a customs area. By then he was so ill that, despite extensive veterinary care, he was euthanized 12 days later.
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