A cat survived on her own at Boston's Logan International Airport for almost three weeks after getting lost at the airport after a flight from Germany in June, officials said.
The 4-year-old cat, named Rowdy, was found safe and sound Wednesday morning, according to Massport. She'd been missing ever since she landed in Boston with one of her owners last month as the family moved back to the U.S. from Germany, where they lived for 15 years.
German airliner Lufthansa notified Rowdy's human parents that the cat got out of her cage while unloading cargo, according to a news release.
Patty Sahli had been at Logan airport picking up her husband and their beloved cat when she was alerted of Rowdy's disappearance. Rowdy was in a hard travel carrier riding in cargo.
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"I went to the cargo area and they said, 'Oh, do you have a black cat?'" Sahli recounted in June. She replied yes, "and they said, 'Well, we don't know where she is right now.'"
Her family got the good news that Rowdy had been found on Wednesday.
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"It's just a big relief," Sahli said. "It's kind of unbelievable."
"True to her name, this frisky feline escaped her kitty kennel upon her Lufthansa flight’s arrival on June 24 and had been roaming the airport ever since. Whether out of fatigue or hunger we’ll never know, but this morning she finally let herself be caught," said Massport, the agency that operates the airport, in a statement.
"They called me a little later and said 'Hey, we got her,'" Sahli recalled.
The agency said airline staff and construction workers helped search for Rowdy. Cameras and safe-release animal traps were set up where Rowdy had been spotted.
"They really took the right steps to place certain items that would be familiar to Rowdy the cat, the food that she likes. They were in constant contact with the family," said Michael DeFina, a spokesman for the Animal Rescue League of Boston, which loaned traps to the airport.
The nonprofit collected her Wednesday morning and checked her out. She was a little scared, DeFina said, but healthy.
"She's very hungry but she's doing well," he said.
Sahli has joked that the inquisitive cat, who "inspects every box and every bag ... would be great at airport security."
"[She] probably put a dent on the mouse population at the airport," she said Wednesday.
Sahli said Lufthansa is flying her from her home in Florida to Boston on Friday evening. She will then reunite with Rowdy the following morning.
"I don't think I'll be letting her out for a while. I think she'll be staying in," said Sahli.
