Missing cat that has been dodging staff at Boston airport finally caught after three weeks

‘Whether out of fatigue or hunger we’ll never know, but this morning she finally let herself be caught’

A missing cat that has been dodging staff at a Boston airport has finally been caught after three weeks.

Rowdy the cat eluded airport personnel, airline staff, and animal experts after getting out of her pet carrier at Logan International Airport in Boston before being captured on Wednesday.

“Whether out of fatigue or hunger we’ll never know, but this morning she finally let herself be caught,” an airport spokesperson said.

Following a health check, Rowdy will go back to her family.

Owner Patty Nolet Sahli posted on Facebook on 13 July that Rowdy “was trapped early this morning. Boston airport employees, Massport, construction workers, Lufthansa and local animal advocates worked in a great [team] effort to locate her and safely trap her. She looks great, is happy to be with people and I am sure will be happy to be reunited with us. Thank you everyone for your support!”

Rowdy disappeared on 24 June when the family returned to the US from an Army deployment to Germany, Ms Sahli previously wrote. When their Lufthansa flight landed, the four-year-old black cat with green eyes escaped her cage and set off in pursuit of some birds.

Her escape set off a massive search involving airport and Lufthansa personnel, construction workers, and animal welfare advocates, as well as the use of wildlife cameras and safe-release traps.

Lufthansa even hired a tracker to trap Rowdy, Ms Sahli said. Following her escape, Ms Sahli wrote that “she escaped her cage in the cargo bay and [Lufthansa] said she went to chase birds and they couldn’t catch her”.

Randy the cat went missing after her family flew back from Germany, where they had been living for 15 years (Screenshot / NBC10)

On 3 July, the owner wrote that “Rowdy is still missing after one week,” adding that the airport staff set up traps “with food and water and my clothes items in the basement where they believe she ran”.

Ms Sahli wrote that they sent “voice recordings” from the family as well as Rowdy’s favourite treats to put beside the cages.

“She loves ... treats. She will open cupboards to find them and even chew through the bag to get them. If she isn’t in the secure area anymore, she should show up somewhere that hopefully, someone will pick her up and we will identify her with her chip,” she added at the time.

The family had lived in Germany for 15 years before moving back to the US, NBC10 Boston reported.

Ahead of Rowdy’s capture, Ms Sahli told NBC10: “She’s got bright green eyes, the softest coat ever, she’s a very vocal, loud cat. She goes and gets into things.”

“We joke that she inspects every box and every bag, and she would be great at airport security,” she added at the time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report