Toiletries? Yes. Cats? No. TSA agents find cat in passenger's carry-on at X-ray checkpoint.
Natalie Neysa AlundGuns, knives and drugs are some of the typical items the Transportation Security Administration often reports finding in people's carry-on bags.
In a twist last week, TSA agents said they found something alive inside a passenger's bag at a security checkpoint in Virginia.
On Friday, a cat was discovered inside a passenger’s carry-on bag during a screening at Norfolk International Airport. And it's not the first time that has happened.
TSA released an X-ray photo of the cat, which appears to be hunched down inside a bag.
"Just when you thought it was safe to bring your pet cat on a trip... A traveler left their pet cat in its travel carrying case at a @TSA checkpoint this morning at @NorfolkAirport," TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein posted. "Attention pet owners: Please do not send your pet through the X-ray unit. Cat-astrophic mistake!"
Farbstein, a spokesperson for the TSA, told CNN the owner knew their pet was in a carry-on bag, because it was in a pet travel case.
“It appears that the individual either did not know to remove the pet from the carry-on travel case before going through the checkpoint or forgot to do so,” Farbstein told the outlet.
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A 'hiss-toric find'
The incident was not the first of its kind, the TSA said.
In December, TSA agents found a dog inside a carry-on backpack that was "accidentally sent through the X-ray" at an airport in Madison, Wisconsin.
In a tweet, TSA Great Lakes shared an image of the backpack in a bin at airport security and its X-ray – which shows the outline of the dog in the traveler's carry-on at Dane County Regional Airport. The dog was OK when it emerged, TSA said, and the traveler was "unaware" about screening protocols required for animals.
About a month earlier, in what agents dubbed a "hiss-toric find," a cat was found inside a traveler's checked luggage at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The TSA retrieved the cat, which was alive, and notified police, who asked the traveler if he knew about the cat.
"From the sound of it, this was ... unintentional," Farbstein said, noting the traveler said he was unaware of the cat being in his luggage. The traveler told officials the cat belonged to someone else who lived in his household, Farbstein said.
Don't send pets through X-ray machines
On its website, TSA provides travelers information about guidelines on traveling with pets stating they should never be put through an airport's X-ray tunnel.
Dogs and cats, for example, can either be screened privately in a separate room or walk with a traveler through the metal detector on a leash, Farbstein told USA TODAY. But an empty pet carrier will still need to go through security's X-ray to ensure there are no prohibited items.
Each airline's policy for traveling with animals is different, so check with your carrier before you get to the airport about carry-on policies or special shipping options. Different rules apply to certain pets.
Contributing: Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA TODAY
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.