Airplane Passenger Is Kicked Off Southwest Flight After Her Cat Poops in His Carrier

Last week, an X user took to social media to share a harrowing story about her experience flying on Southwest Airlines with her cat. Alex, whose X post has garnered over 22 million views, shared that her cat pooped in his carrier when he “got scared of a rough landing” — and after the accident, the crew removed her from her connecting flight on the same plane. Alex ended up stranded with her cat for twelve hours.

After her first post from the airport went viral — and sparked a lot of questions — Alex posted a detailed follow-up. She explained that her seven-month-old cat, Oni, had an accident that was “fully contained” in his carrier, and she took him to the bathroom to clean the carrier up with paper towels.

“After wrapping the dirty paper towels in another clean one, I dispose of them in the trash because I am worried about if they can be flushed and expect they take out the trash between flights,” Alex explained. She then told the flight attendants about the situation and requested another garbage bag “for them to easily get rid of.”

Alex left the aircraft before realizing that her connecting flight was on the same plane. When she re-boarded, the crew had changed, and they had had to close the bathroom because of the smell. A flight attendant approached her in what Alex described as “a hostile manner,” questioning her about the incident. Alex assured her that Oni had a litter box and would be given hourly trips to the bathroom. “She is very angry and accusatory and rude and makes me cry,” Alex wrote.

Minutes later, another Southwest employee approached Alex to tell her that she would have to leave the flight. He gave her a $200 flight voucher and assured her that she had done nothing wrong.

Alex and Oni’s new flight wasn't for another several hours and took them to different airport, where they had yet another layover to get home. “I only packed for a few hours so I’ve had to be careful with supplies for Oni but he’s doing great and we have one flight left,” Alex shared.

In the end, Oni and Alex got home safely at 2 a.m. (they were supposed to land at 5 p.m.) and Oni was happily reunited with his “120 lb big brother,” a dog named Appa.

The situation sparked some debate among X users. Some criticized Alex’s conduct — and the idea of traveling by plane with a cat altogether. “Why bring a kitten on a flight? That’s mean,” one user said. “People who travel with pets are annoying,” said another. “Sucks that you made folks smell poop in an already uncomfortable environment cause you couldn’t spend 20 bucks a day to have your pet taken care of.”

Others were on Alex’s side. “It’s a cat. Cats poop,” said one. Some compared traveling with a cat to traveling with a child, adding, “I’ve had my daughter puke all over a Qatar Airlines plane. They treated us with kindness and helped clean up.” Another took one look at Oni and tried another defense tactic: “Refuse to believe that little dude is guilty of anything he’s accused.”