By Ivan Pereira
The online community that has been working for weeks to find a missing cat at John F. Kennedy International Airport was up and about this weekend to get more people on their team and bring the missing feline home.
A dozen people gathered at the airport’s veterinarian area Saturday morning and spread throughout the airport to give information about Jack the cat to travelers, employees and other people who frequent JFK.
On Aug. 25, Karen Pascoe was moving from New York to San Francisco with Jack and her other pet cat, Barry, when she was informed that Jack was missing from his kennel just before he was put inside the American Airlines flight.
There have been no signs of the cat since then, but Pascoe said she is not giving up.
“One of the most important things to do when you lose an animal is to maintain the awareness that the pet is lost,” she said in a telephone interview.
The awareness of Pascoe’s story has grown strong, thanks to a Facebook group that was created by pet lovers who felt bad for the owner. “Jack The Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK” has 15,250 members with more likely to join and they coordinated the weekend’s “Jack Awareness Day” with Pascoe.
Pascoe said she liked the idea of getting airport workers involved because they are the ones who have the best chance of finding her pet.
“The airport crews are supposed to be the eyes and ears,” she said.
Although the turnout for the campaign was not as big as the group hoped for, its administrators said they would be back this Saturday for another round.
“That will allow us to look for Jack at dusk and hit the evening shift of workers to up their awareness!!” the group posted on its page Saturday evening.
Pascoe said the entire ordeal has devastated her because she has been close to Jack since adopting him and Barry three years ago.
His absence in her home has been affecting everyone, including his feline brother.
“It’s really tough on Barry because I’m at work all day … and he’s kind of lonely,” she said.
The software engineer relocated to the West Coast after she got a new job in Silicon Valley and said the kennels for both cats were secured when she checked them in at Terminal 8.
A half hour later, she was paged by the American Airlines desk and told that Jack’s kennel was open and the cat was not inside. Airport crews tried searching for Jack, but the effort was halted when Tropical Storm Irene shut down JFK two days later, but airport officials have taken several measures, including a review of the surveillance footage and putting out humane traps.
American Airlines apologized for losing Jack and has said it continues to search for Jack, according to a spokesman. Pascoe said if Jack is found, he can be easily identified since he has an ID microchip implanted into his collarbone.
The owner said she is sure that Jack is alive and noted that another cat that escaped from its owners in Colorado, made its way to New York and was discovered last month after five years on the lam.
“It has given me a lot of hope,” she said.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
