Cat caught roaming around in US flight becomes Twitter celebrity. Meet Brian

Brian was soon returned to his owner. (Image credit: @gooddirt/Twitter)

A chonky cat has become an internet sensation after it was caught roaming around in a mid-air flight from Ontario to New York. Brian, the grey and white feline, had escaped its carrier and was caught by a flight attendant in the middle of its adventures and later handed over to its owner.

The incident was recorded by a journalist who had fallen asleep in the flight, but woke up to an announcement: "Is anyone missing a cat. A grey-and-white cat." The flight attendant later added, "That cat was heavy."

But it was Yi Shun Lai's tweet with a photo of the escape artist that caught the internet's fancy. Her tweet received more than 14 million views.

On last night’s @JetBlue flight, ONT-JFK: “Is anyone missing a CAT. A grey-and-white CAT.” Yes I woke up for this. pic.twitter.com/XE5ywPM9x7

— Yi Shun Lai (@gooddirt) March 17, 2023

"Oh my gosh I so badly wish I was on this flight," wrote Twitter user Ilana Masad (@ilanaslightly). Another Twitter user (@words_are_sheep) commented "Cats on a plane>snakes on a plane." A third user said that if the incident were a movie, he would definitely watch it.

Then, Brian's owner came forward with a video of him in action.

That’s our big boy Brian! Thank you for all the love, he’s safe & sound but definitely not sorry haha pic.twitter.com/GDg3Bwzv4p — Alexis (@prof_goddess) March 18, 2023

Soon, other cat owners began to share similar escape tales.

"Cats! My grand cat escaped his carrier at Los Angeles airport. He stealthily worked on the zippers until he was free. Luckily he had been sedated before the flight and was easily captured," wrote Twitter user (@MsCalEsq). Another Twitter user (@maerlyn99) wrote, "My mom was flying with my then toddler brother, pregnant with me, and transporting our big Siamese. He chewed through his cardboard carrier, booked it down the aisle with attendant in hot pursuit, jumped up on Mom's lap when she called to him, and glared at the attendant."