Cat lost by Airline - On tarmac at Dublin Airport

shanec112

On the 4th June 2008 at 11am our cat was due to fly to Switzerland where we are moving.
Having organised all of the required vaccines and pet passport and sourced a reliable carrier who would feed and water the cat on its stopover; all seemed to be progressing fine.
The cat was accepted with the cargo handler having checked its veterinary details and ensuring the cage was of adequate size and safe.
3 hours later a phone call was received indicating that there was bad news. Expecting the worse that the paperwork was not in order I was shocked to be told the cat was missing. The cage was empty.
Somewhere after the cat was brought through security checks and before the baggage handlers loaded the plane the cat has supposedly managed to undo both locks on the cage and a wire securing the cage door.

Myself and my partner are shocked and distraught as to how such an error could occur. We had entrusted a valued and loved 4th member of our family to a company which ensured our cat would be delivered safely to Switzerland.

If anyone has any suggestions as to how we can find our cat out on the flight area in Dublin Airport we would be delighted to hear from you.
If there any individuals reading this who work on or near the Dublin Airport we would ask you to keep on the lookout for a 2year old tabby who is black and white (photo to be attached). He is wearing a black collar with his name and our number on it, it also indicates he is chipped.

The return of the cat would bring relief, joy and happiness to a currently upset and distraught family.

luckat

Try the Pet Detective. He has cat-tracking dogs.

http://www.happytailsdetective.com/

artieanna

Gosh I'm sorry to hear that. Thats really terrible....

I truely hope he's found

MsFifers

That is really heartbreaking - I can imagine how you must be feeling.

Have you contacted Dublin Airport Authority? Maybe they could assist in getting you in touch with people working in the baggage area? If the cat was let out and ran off somewhere to hide, he might be still around there somewhere.

I see on their website they issue newsletters to people living around the Airport (although there aren't many recent issues) - maybe they could put an appeal in there if there is one coming out soon?

http://www.dublinairport.com/about-us/community-affairs/community_newsletter.html

Its the kind of human/animal interest story you might get some media interest in, maybe. Try Joe Duffy, Gerry Ryan or one of the redtops.

Was he a pedigree cat? Maybe he was stolen, rather than just set free? I guess he will be harder to find if that is the case, but at least he may be being looked after properly.

girl24

OMG that is so awful, I really hope you find your cat. Have the company that were supposed to look after the cat (instead of losing it) offered to help in any way? I really think they or someone in the airport should take some responsibility and do their best to look for the cat. I really don't think its good enough the way you have been treated. I would contact the airport authority as suggested above. Hopefully someone will find it and bring to a shelter where it can be checked for its micochip. Fingers crossed for you.

Trinity

If you post a picture and tell me the cats name i will keep an eye out, i am not too far from the airport. There are lots and lots of fields around the airport.

I will also place a lost ad on another website. www.petsireland.invisionzone.com

Also where did you live before you moved?

Morganna

OMG i feel so sorry for you ,your family and the cat .I hope to God you find him .

Ruu_Old

Keep us updated if you can. Hope the cat turns up safe.

Trinity

There has been response already on the other site, some people work up there and are spreading the word. FIngers crossed.

shanec112

hi,

i am shanes partner

currently the pet detective is searching dublin airport with his dogs. he will continue for a few hours and if they cant find him they will put up humane cat traps with cat food so maybe he will come out looking for food tonight, the detective will go back tomorrow and continue the search if they dont have any luck tonight. i am just praying that we get our cat back, i am so upset and cant believe what happened, its like loosing a family member. just try to pull myself together since i have to care for our little daughter and i am pregnant as well.

trinity thank you, so kind of you to look for tigger!!! we were living in blackrock, tigger is also very friendly with the neighbours so they are informed in case he turns up.

luckcat thank you so much fot mentioning the pet detective, we phoned him this morning and thank god he was available to take the case immediately.

We will continue to keep updating the thread with any news

PurplePrincess

You could also try the catering companies in the airport. The cats tend to stick to the areas near their warehouses because of the food. GateGourmet and Aer Lingus are there and possibly Alpha too.

Best of Luck.

shanec112

trinity thank you for posting on the other site, i just registered to load up a picture but he registry application needs to be reviewed and we dont have internet at home i am at my aunts now and need to go home to put my daughter to bed, could you post the picture for me? its in the last post. thank you for your help x mara

cotton

I'll put you pic up there for you now.
Robert in happy tails is very good, he'll do a thorough job.
God love you, it's a terrible story, I'm praying that you get him back.
If I can be of any help with traps etc, let me know.
Tracey

hadook

shanec112 wrote: »

trinity thank you for posting on the other site, i just registered to load up a picture but he registry application needs to be reviewed and we dont have internet at home i am at my aunts now and need to go home to put my daughter to bed, could you post the picture for me? its in the last post. thank you for your help x mara

I've validated your account on PI

arybvtcw0eolkf

I'm really sorry to hear about your plight OP.

I'm driving around that area all the time, and shoot up there occasionally too. Tbh I've never seen cats in the area.

Only advice I'd give is to hound the airport authorities as with a plentiful supply of food and shelter your cat is unlikely to leave the area fast.

Morganna

Please God that you get him back thinking of you

luckat

I hope you find Tigger, who looks such a cutesypie.

By the way, is he microchipped?

You have, I assume, been around all the pounds and shelters personally? (Ringing is good with some but not with all...)

The Pet Detective is fighting a difficult battle in such a crowded place as the airport, and with scents like high-octane fuel that are stunning for a dog's nose.

If the Pet Detective does find Tigger, I trust that the airport authority will pay for this - as well as any other expenses?

Have you thought of giving the Evening Herald newsdesk a call, by the way? Just the kind of story they'd go for, I'd imagine, and it might mean that someone who'd taken Tigger in or spotted him realised who he was.

Ring them early in the morning - seven or eight - and say you can email them a picture of Tigger.

Run_to_da_hills

The tabloids would also be a good bet to publicize the matter, they thrive on stories about "moggies" especially the Sun and the Mirror. He could have made a runner towards the parameter fence trying to make its way back home. I am also sure your carrier should be covered by insurance to pay for out of pocket search expenses.

bronte

Aw, god I hope you find him guys! Some good advice posted.
Praying for you!

shanec112

hi guys,

thanks for all your replys

the pet detective has been working tirelessly for us in the airport but as of yet the dogs have not got a scent. he has been putting lots of humane traps around where he believes the cat escaped.
he es having huge difficulty in identyfying exactly where tigger got loose as there are different storys from the various airport parties. due to this tigger escaped along a three kilometer stretch. part of this area is airside and therefore the petdetective cannot gain acess. we did organize for him to be acompanied by the airportpolice however the airside is to busy and he does not believe that tigs is in that area. he believes he is more likely to be from the start of airside back to the cargo hanger.
we are pleading with the individuals involved in the airport to please give an exact location of where an how the cat escaped obviously at this moment the where is far more important than the how.
the pet detective and ourselves have been postering and contacting business houeses individuals around the area and the airport.
the pet detective will keep looking for tigs in the next days.
robert has personally taken a very strong interest in finding tigger as he has 5 cats himself and feels appaled at the information and support he/us are reciving from the companys involved in loosing tigger.

we are hoping to have an article in mondays irish independent, thanks for that suggestion.

i dont care about the money, i just want my kitty back. i cant sleep at night and still break out in tears every time i think of my poor tigs out there on his own, its really hard to take. every time the phone rings i hope its robert telling us he found tigs. i cant accept that hes gone.

he is such a great cat, so friendly and loving, a real family animal. my 20 months old daughter loves him to bits and keeps asking for him, he used to go for walks with us and wait by the street when we went shopping until we came back and if he missed us because he feel asleep he would sit there all day waiting until somebody came to get him out of the bushes. he is so good. such a cuddle. the best boy in the world i need him back:-(
please pray for tig to return home to us

thank you, mara

shanec112

oh and yes, he is microchipped. he has a little thing on his flea collar saying i am microchipped as well.

Fantasy_Suicide

Just wanted to give you my support. I am almost in tears here myself thinking about the whole thing. I wish you the best of luck in finding him. xx

Dyr

I dunno if this would be possible for you but you sound like you're being too nice by far about it. Tell the airport authorities you're coming back to ireland and you want to meet with them, (see if they'll pay for the ticket), tell them you want to meet with the head of the relevent dept and the baggage handlers who were working on that plane, let them know you're furious at their treatment of this and that you think they arent being truthful with you. Tell them you want to be taken out airside where the cat was lost and search yourself (don't let them tell you that they cant do that, i've been out there and i was just doing placement work)

If their story has changed or sounds wrong then it's probably because someone is lying. Get lawyered up if possible, people suddenly take you far more seriously when legal action looms into view

luckat

Great that you've got the Pet Detective on the case; better still that there's a story in the Indo. The newspaper story may put the skids under the airport authorities and get them moving.

I hope the Pet Detective is also regularly checking the pounds and shelters for you?

Have you put an ad (with a photo) on http://www.irishanimals.ie? This is a great site, and if you specify that this was in the airport, the local readers will be alerted.

I wonder if other animals have gone missing while in the care of Dublin Airport?

shanec112

hi guys,

there was a sighting of tigger this morning at 5.30 in the area where the planes are loaded with food. robert is out there looking for him. we hope it really was him.

shane is flying back to dublin and meeting robert tomorrow, together they are going to talk to the airport authorities and the people involved in loosing tigger.


@bambi; we are doing all this. shane does all the talking since i am native german speaker and dont feel comfortable talking in this situation especially since i am getting teary every time it comes to talking about tigs

@luckat; robert is checking the shelters, however we think he is still in the airport especially since he is in an area with (waste) food so he is not starving. robert says cats usually hide for about 10 days in the same place before they start to move further away. today is day 6 he is missing. i put an ad on irishanimals, thank you for that.

by the way the airport people are saying this is the first time ever an animal has gone missing in their care. would you believe them?

i keep you posted if theres any news, still dont have internet so cant check back very often x

luckat

Did the Indo cover it?

Do I believe the airport people... well, they seem to have reacted pretty casually, don't they? Maybe there's a bigger story there. Or maybe not, of course.

Brilliant that there's a sighting.

If the Indo don't come through, you might try RTE - 'twould be a nice little story for the News or something like Nationwide.

Morganna

I ddo so hope that u get him back .Thinking of you all the time .I wish i could do something .I am keeping you in my thoughts .

Clare Bear

Ah God that's terrible. Best of luck, I really hope you find him

random_banter

Well its a very positive sign that there was a sighting, if you think about it its likely to be him as there wouldnt normally be animals naturally hanging around that area.

Best of luck!!!

Postman-Layla

I live about 5km away from the airport, and a while back a neighbour found a stray Terrier who, as it turns out, had been lost by airport handlers just like your Tigger.
Maybe it's not completely true, but if it is then the airport staff should be ashamed that this is going on.
I'll keep an eye out for him in case he's wandered this far my direction.
Saying a prayer that your get him back home safe.

Run_to_da_hills

Can these animal transport companies not have their cages pad locked? I hope tigger turns up.

shanec112

When the cage was accepted by the cargo company it was securly locked. There was no key-lock on the cage as the cat was to be watered on it's arrival.
The locking mechanism included the standard top and bottom locks on the pet-voyager cage and additionally a wire looped through the centre of the cage and twisted close through the hole on the cage.
According to the pet detective it is highly unlikely that the cage unlocked itself or that the cat managed to untwist the wire.
A theory which has been expressed by the pet detective is that the cage was unlocked to either pet or calm the cat by an individual and following this it was not closed properly after.
We recieved photos of the cage from the airline when it was at the foot of the plane the top lock was open, the wire securing the middle of the cage was not present.
Obviously this is only an opinion of what may have happened and I do not want to make accusations at those involved in handling the cat. No-one has admitted to opening and/or interferring with the cage. But it would have been impossible for the cage to open during transit with the wire closing it, and it is highly unlikely that the wire fell-off or snapped.
It is interesting that other readers have heard stories of cats getting loose in the airport the pet detective indicated that while seaching for tigeer he found another cat that had escaped which had come in from eastern europe earlier in the week. I would be curious to know how many animals have escaped; according to the cargo handlers this was the first time ever this has occured in dublin airport !

The pet detective believegs he has closed in on where tigger was located and I was airside myself earlier today. Unfortunaly tigger did not answer my calls. Hopefully as he gets more familiar to the area where he is belived to be (back of skylon food area) he will come out and more close enough so the staff in the area may be able to pick him up. The area he is belived to be in is heavy undergrowth consisting of brambles and nettles (2m high) and about 200m * 25m and due to this is near on impossible to walk through. Additionally if offers excellent hiding for tigger unfortunaly.

The pet detective has laid cages around the area and hopefully tigger will enter one of them.
He is due to check them later this evening and hopefully there will be good news.

Thanks again for all the support

arybvtcw0eolkf

shanec112 wrote: »

The pet detective has laid cages around the area and hopefully tigger will enter one of them.
He is due to check them later this evening and hopefully there will be good news.

Thanks again for all the support

Just an idea.

If this 'Pet Detective' finds Tigger could you PM a Mod with his contact details and maybe the Mod could make a stickie with his info as this would be a valuable service to us all.

JasperKat

Just want to add our voice to the hopes & prayers that tigs will be happily recaptured & returned to you safe & sound, & none the worse for his ordeal.

We can completely understand the total distress you & your family must be suffering as we returned home here via Dublin Airport with our two ginger cats in two seperate pet-carriers, I was absolutely terrified that something would happen along the way but, thank god, it didn't!

Looking forward to hearing that he's been safely recaptured.

Jasper

artieanna

shanec112 wrote: »

.
It is interesting that other readers have heard stories of cats getting loose in the airport the pet detective indicated that while seaching for tigeer he found another cat that had escaped which had come in from eastern europe earlier in the week. I would be curious to know how many animals have escaped; according to the cargo handlers this was the first time ever this has occured in dublin airport !

Obviously this has happened on more than one occasion! its completly terrible!! I know how I would feel in the same position. I really hope you have good news soon!!

Run_to_da_hills

artieanna wrote: »

Obviously this has happened on more than one occasion! its completly terrible!! I know how I would feel in the same position. I really hope you have good news soon!!

Has anyone ever tried sneaking a cat or any pet into the cabin? with horror stories like this one would be tempted. Im sure it's been done somewhere in the world.

luckat

Shane - Don't worry that Tigger isn't answering your calls. Cats that are lost can go into a kind of coma-like freeze.

The fact that he's been seen around is very hopeful. And the fact that he's at the back of the food area suggests that he's copped on to where he can find food!

Very interesting that the pet detective caught another cat that had escaped in transit.

I wonder what kind of facilities the airport has for feeding and watering animals - is this done in a closed room, where the animal can feel secure, and if it escapes the cage can easily be put back in?

Your description of the locks and wire closing the cage, and the fact that some (random?) person may have opened these to pet the cat are startling.

cmurph

just wondering if ye have found tigger yet shane?


my heart goes out to ye , and i really hope he will be reunited with ye all very soon

spurious

cmurph wrote: »

just wondering if ye have found tigger yet shane?

I was wondering this too - any news/further sightings?

shanec112

Hi all,

There have been no further sightings of tigger; the pet detective still believes that he is in the area of scrub and is concentrating on placing cages around the area.

Hopefully there will be a sighting again today as it's reassuring to know he has been seen in the area, even if as of yet he has not been caught.

There was an article in the evening herald yesterday which is attached, we are hoping that this will raise awareness of the situation and put pressure on the airport companies involved. I am hoping that one of the radio programs i've been in contact with will follow-up on air too.

thanks for all of your support and I'll keep updating you

luckat

Hmm, article's a bit dull.

You might also try Joe Duffy's programme Liveline on RTE Radio 1 - that might alert people near the airport to look - as well as bringing any other stories of animals lost in transit out of the woodwork.

The cat-tracking dogs can't help in the scrub, now that Tigger's been seen?

kraggy

At least you got the article in the Herald anyway. It will hopefully will be of some help.

And you should definitely get on to Joe Duffy. The amount of people who listen to his show is unreal.

Also, many of those listening to it are at work at the time and may be working in the airport and its surrounding areas so it my alert someone who has seen Tigger.

Best of luck. Hope ye find him.

MsFifers

I've been checking every day to see if you have found Tigger - I'm really hoping & praying for you.

I'll be in the airport tomorrow - and although its unlikely I'll be anywhere near the area where Tigger is hiding - I'll do my very best to keep an eye out or speak to catering staff.

luckat

Still no sign? Any more sightings? Did you try Liveline? Anything further from the airport authorities?

Incidentally, I wonder if it might help if the pet detective put a sweaty T-shirt belonging to one of you into some of the traps, so they'd smell familiar to Tigger, and sprayed them with Feliway?

BeauZak

Cross post on the following boards for maximum exposure

boards.irishanimals.ie
petsireland.invisionzone.com
Contact kitten adoption at www.kittenadoption.ie

Also contact Maggie at Dogs Aid www.dogsaid.ie as she is right next to the airport. We are also right next to the airport and will put the poster up in our facilities and if there are any sightings will post here. If we see Tigger though will do upmost to secure him.

I don't think the cat got out the door of the carrier, I can't see how that would happen as it is sealed. I would imagine the carrier fell and the sides opened as there is a seal on the door for security reasons??? Anyway no point thinking of that now just make sure someone is held responsible and all of your costs are covered WHEN he is found.

luckat

Damn, I come in here every day hoping Tigger's been found. I wish I could help.

If it's any comfort, I minded a friend's cat for a year and then gave her back when my friend returned to Ireland. Then her cat went missing when she got a big dog.

But a year later, my friend's son went out one day and ran in shouting to his mother that he'd seen the cat - and they found it, verminous and half-starved, living in the derelict house next door, and still wearing the name tag I'd put on it. It lived out a happy old age with them.

Pollydoodles

Hi there,

Only just joined and was reading your tale I feel so sad for you, I had a ginger tom a few years ago and shortly after moving to a new flat I went away for the weekend and when I came back he had legged it! Five months later he turned up at the old address and if you could see the journey he had taken to get there you'd be as amazed as I was. If you don't find him soon start asking your old neighbours to keep an eye out for him you'd be surprised how far they can travel. All the best with your search.

shanec112

hi guys,

i just wrote such a long reply and shane accidentally unplugged my laptop, all gone. so i try again now:

tigs is still out there, robert and his team are still looking for him.
so far he was seen about 5 times.
3 days ago he was seen in the airport at 4 in the morning, 7 hours later he was held by a lady living just behind the airport, she did not know it was tigger and let him go again. so mister tigger managed to get out of the airport. the detective followed his trail with dogs and came to the point where he was seen by this lady. she said he was looking fine, not starved or anything, so she did not feed him. i am glad he appears to be in ok condition after 12 days out there on his own, probably living on mice and birds.
robert is glad he is out of the airport, he thinks it makes it easier to find him. was always such a battle to get in there with the garda and so on. now they can look for him easier and whenever they want.
2 days ago was the last time he was spotted in a tree in a golf club at 12 at night.
they think he moves about 500 meters a day and try to be quicker than him by putting up flyers in the areas before he gets there. he just doesnt go in any of the humane traps they put out, even tough there is food and t shirts and stuff in there. probably terrified of cages now.

thank you for thinking of us, mara

we are still very hopeful to get tigs back.

shanec112

just looked at pictures of tigs on my laptop, wanted to show you our family cat again, its tigs going for a walk with us, eva kissing tigger, and eva playing with him

brick tamland

good to here he's still alive and doing well.

all the best in youre search

babychuckles

Just a few words if I may.
I hope im not insulting the pet detective:
I presume that he is using a big cat trap and not a kitten trap. I use humane cat traps myself and in my experience adult cats wont go into kitten traps because they are just too compact and one needs to use the bigger cat trap to get an adult cat inside. Apologies if he is using the bigger trap.
Another thing that might help is when the trap is set to have the top and sides covered, ( i use old curtains as they are heavy and wont flap about in the wind), so the cat is not distracted by being able to see through the trap and lastly to have attractive food which he loves inside to lure him.

Good luck and best wishes.