A cat accidentally left on a plane made three trips covering 4,500 miles: “How could this happen?”

A Maine cat named Mittens became an accidental plane traveler this month when her cage was overlooked in the plane’s cargo hold and she made three trips in 24 hours between New Zealand and Australia.

Mittens, 8, was booked to fly one way with her family from Christchurch, New Zealand to their new home in Melbourne, Australia on January 13. But owner Margo Ness said Wednesday that she was waiting for Mittens to be unloaded from the plane’s cabin. In the cargo area, three hours passed without any sign of the cat.

At that time, ground staff told NICE that the plane had returned to New Zealand, with Mittens still on board. The return flight takes about 7.5 hours in the air.

“I said, ‘How could this happen? How could this happen? Oh my God,'” Ness said.

The distance from Christchurch, New Zealand to Melbourne, Australia is about 1,500 miles, meaning the cat traveled about 4,500 miles before being reunited with Ness.

She added that the Air New Zealand pilot was informed of the additional passenger during the flight and turned on the heating in the cargo hold to keep the gloves comfortable. Ness was told that the stowed wheelchair had blocked the baggage handler’s view of the glove cage.

“It wasn’t a great start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn’t have a family, and we weren’t complete,” she said.

But the saga had a happy ending. The pet transport company Ness used to arrange Mittens’ travel met the cat on her return to Christchurch and ensured she was back on the plane for another flight to Melbourne – this time one way only.

The gloves have lost weight but are unharmed.

“She basically ran into my arms and hugged me right here and did the biggest hug ever,” Ness said. “It was just such a relief.”

Air New Zealand said in a statement that it would reimburse all costs associated with Mittens’ travel and apologized for the distress caused.

“We will work closely with our ground manager in Melbourne to ensure this does not happen again,” spokeswoman Alesha Armstrong said.

Meanwhile, Mittens, not usually an affectionate pet, is “the most cuddly of all,” Ness said.

“The cat gets as much attention as she wants now because we feel completely relieved to have her back.”

Denies He told the New Zealand Herald She received a sympathetic call from the airline’s acting sales manager.

“He acknowledged my concerns and stated that if it were his family pet, he would feel the same way,” Ness told the newspaper.