Jack, the cat lost, then found, at JFK, has died

On Sunday, veterinarians in New York euthanized Jack, the cat who gained world-wide attention and more than 23,000 Facebook fans after being lost for two months, and then found, at JFK International Airport.

The news of Jack’s passing was reported in a statement posted on the Jack the Cat is lost at AA Baggage at JFK Facebook page:

“Jack has gone over the rainbow bridge,” the statement said. “Jack had extensive wounds on the back of his body, and the wounds were unable to heal because his skin had deteriorated due to the malnutrition that occurred while he was lost.

“He needed surgery to treat the wounds,” the statement continued, “But there was not enough available skin to close the wounds after the surgery… The vet was very clear that she had conferred with every possible doctor regarding options for Jack, but none of them left him with a substantial chance of survival and all of them involved him suffering. Jack had been through so much, and the last thing anyone wanted was for him to suffer more.”

Jack first got loose in the American Airlines baggage center at JFK on August 25, after his owner, Karen Pasco, checked him and another cat in to American Airlines as cargo. As American Airlines explained in an incident report filed with the Department of Transportation, while the kennels were waiting to be loaded on the aircraft, “the kennel positioned on the top fell to the ground. The impact of the fall caused the kennel to separate and the cat escaped.”

A day later, parts of JFK airport were shut down in preparation for Tropical Storm Irene. For two months after that, thousands of Facebook fans of Jack the Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK followed search efforts that included at least two Jack the Cat Awareness days, a pet Amber Alert and the hiring of a pet detective. Jack was finally found on Tuesday October 25th, when he fell through a ceiling tile in the customs area at JFK’s Terminal 8.

On Sunday evening, American Airlines also posted a statement about Jack on its Facebook page that said, “We are deeply saddened that Jack the cat has passed away, and we offer profound sympathy to Jack’s owner, Karen Pascoe, for her loss. Our heart also goes out to the Friends of Jack and those in the cat-loving community who have grown fond of Jack since he went missing… From all of us at American, our sincere apologies to Karen and Jack’s family and friends.”

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Jack the cat – the kitty that escaped from his carrier in the American Airlines baggage claim area at JFK airport and was missing for almost two months – is still is in critical condition.

American Airlines is covering Jack’s medical expenses and brought his owner, Karen Pascoe, in from California to visit with Jack this weekend. According to Pascoe’s sister, Mary Beth Melchior, this past weekend Jack’s vital signs were improving. “His red blood cell count has gone up since his transfusion. While his condition is still not optimal, we are happy to see this progress and are looking forward to the day he can return home with Karen,” said Melchior.

You can follow Jack’s progress on the Jack the Cat is lost in AA baggage at JFK Facebook page

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I have to admit, I didn’t think this story would have a happy ending. But, today on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin, I was pleased to be able to report that Jack the cat, at large at John F. Kennedy International Airport since escaping from his cage in the American Airlines baggage claim area two months ago, has been found.

The cat got loose in the airline baggage center at JFK on Aug. 25, after Karen Pasco checked Jack and another cat in as cargo. A day later, parts of the airport were shut down in preparation for Tropical Storm Irene.

Since then, more than 18,000 Facebook fans of Jack the Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK have been following search efforts that have included at least two Jack the Cat Awareness days, a pet Amber Alert and the hiring of a pet detective.

“He was found when he fell through a ceiling tile at Terminal 8 and was discovered by Customs employees who turned him over to American Airlines,” said Pasco. “He’s in critical condition after being who knows where in the terminal for the last 2 months. He’s being administered fluids, has low blood pressure and is dealing with the effects of prolonged malnutrition. While the prognosis is good overall, he’s not out of the woods yet.”

American Airlines announced the news that Jack had been found on Facebook:

“American Airlines is happy to announce that Jack the Cat has been found safe and well at JFK airport. American’s team of airport employees have been focused on the search effort since Jack escaped on August 25, 2011. Jack was found in the customs room and was immediately taken by team members to a local veterinarian. The vet has advised that Jack is doing well at present.”

Pascoe is in California, but Bonnie Folz, a New York-based search coordinator, saw Jack shortly after he was found. “It was great to know it’s him and to know he’s safe,” she said. “He looked fabulous to me. His eyes are big and beautiful and bright, although he’s lost some weight and he needs some grooming. He’s on IV and is having some tests to make sure he’s OK.”

American Airlines said once Jack is ready to travel, the airline will fly him to California to be reunited with his owner.

In a report of the incident filed with the Department of Transportation and included in the Air Travel Consumer Report issued this month, American Airlines reported that, “The clerk responsible for transporting the kennels to the FIS area loaded one kennel on top of another, and while the kennels were stationary and waiting to be loaded on the aircraft, the kennel positioned on the top fell to the ground. The impact of the fall caused the kennel to separate and the cat escaped.”

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Talk about being stuck at the airport.

[Update: August 31, 2011 2 p.m. west coast time: Jack still at large.]

For msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin I tracked down the story of Jack the cat today.

Jack has been on the loose in the American Airlines baggage center at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport for five days now and animal lovers on Facebook and Twitter are joining forces to urge the airline to get serious about finding this lost cat.

Here’s the story:

Karen Pascoe and her two adopted cats, Jack and Barry, were scheduled to fly American Airlines Flight 177 from JFK to San Francisco on Aug. 25, just ahead of Hurricane Irene. Pascoe was moving across the country with her two cats to start a new job in California.

The cats, too big to fit comfortably in one under-the-seat cat carrier, were flying in separate carriers as cargo. But shortly after the cats were checked in, Jack went missing.

“I said goodbye to cats and then went to get dinner,” said Pascoe. “And then I got a call from American letting me know Jack was out of the kennel.”

The cat didn’t appear when Pascoe went to the baggage area to call out to Jack. Pascoe had to leave without finding him because the other cat and the rest of her luggage were on the last flight to San Francisco. “That’s a giant baggage area, and he was nowhere to be found. At best I knew he was hiding somewhere,” said Pascoe.

Pascoe was assured the airline would keep looking for Jack and that she’d get a call with an update the next day. But no one called, and when Pascoe tried calling the baggage area on the weekend, no one answered the phone.

“I respect the fact that a hurricane was coming and things were a bit challenging,” said Pascoe, “but I didn’t hear from American until about 60 hours later.”

American’s silence prompted Pascoe’s sister to set up the “Jack the Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK” Facebook page over the weekend, which quickly attracted mor than 2,000 fans. Many pet lovers also posted notes on American Airlines’ Facebook page urging them to find Jack, prompting the airline to post a response about its efforts to find the missing cat.

“Our JFK employees are using a variety of methods to try to find Jack, including setting cans of cat food by his kennel,” American Airlines spokesman Ed Martelle told msnbc.com. “Additionally, we are working with the Mayor’s Alliance for New York City to assist in providing humane animal traps … We offer our sincere regrets for this incident and are doing everything possible to locate him.”
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Pascoe credits Facebook and Twitter, and other animal lovers, with getting the airline to finally pay attention. She said she finally got a call from someone at American Airlines on Sunday and on Monday spoke with an assigned contact person in the airline’s central baggage claim department four times.

“I can’t help but feel a little frustrated that they didn’t have a better procedure in place,” said Pascoe, “but they’re finally stepping up and are on their game to help me.”

As of midday Tuesday, Jack the cat still hadn’t been found.

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Each Friday on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin I get to answer a reader’s question. This week Christopher Ambler wanted to know not how to take a cat on a plane, but how to avoid cats on a plane.

“If I have an allergy attack, it manifests as asthma that could not only cause a trip to the hospital, at best, but also typically means I will be recovering for days after receiving treatment,” wrote Ambler.

He tries to call ahead to see if there might be cats in the cabin, but “I’m often told that I have no recourse. They have said that I should ask for a seat change, but with re-circulated air, no seat is safe. Travel insurance also doesn’t cover this, as it’s a foreseeable circumstance.”

Rebooking on another flight sometimes solves the conflict, but then he’s often hit with an airline’s change fee, Ambler said.

Ambler is not alone. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), about 10 percent of people with allergies are allergic to pets.

“It can be tough,” said Todd Rambasek, an AAAI fellow and a doctor with E.N.T. & Allergy Health Services in Cleveland, Ohio. “You can try avoidance measures and ask to be moved to another part of the plane. But even if there’s no pet in the cabin or near where you’re seated, remember that a lot of people carry pet dander on their clothes.”

Rambasek said asthma sufferers on airplanes might consider pre-medicating or wearing a face mask, such as those worn by some travelers during flu season.

Ambler has his own suggestion: During the booking process, he’d like airlines to alert a passenger if a pet is already booked on the flight. “If so, I would gladly say, ‘Hey, they booked first, I’ll take a different flight.’ But if someone with a pet allergy books first, pets should be disallowed on that flight. First to book should win,” said Ambler.

I ran that idea past a few airlines. American Airlines told me such a plan would be too complex, too time-consuming and too unreliable to administer.

“Just as with our policy for peanut allergies, we simply cannot assure customers that our aircraft are free of allergens, even if there is no pet onboard,” said American Airlines spokesperson Andrea Huguely. “We cannot guarantee our flights to be allergy-free, and customers should consult their physician as to the best way to medically deal with that issue.”  (American does not serve peanuts, but allows up to seven booked pets per flight.)

But here’s another strategy that may help. Many pet-friendly organizations list airline pet-policies on their websites. Studying those will tell you how much each airline charges for an in-cabin pet (some airline pet fares can top $100 each way) and how many pets each airline allows in the cabin. Frontier Airlines, for example, allows up to 10 pets aboard each flight.

Travelers seeking to avoid flying with other people’s pets might choose an airline that either limits the number of pets in the cabin or charges a high fee for passengers to bring their pets along.

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