LI Cat Lost From Cargo For 3 Weeks At JFK Airport Found

LONG ISLAND, NY—Ettore the cat was bound for Italy with his owner, Salvatore Fazio, a part-time Mastic Beach resident. But the cat ended up spending three weeks on the JFK airport runways, while volunteers tried to find a way to search for him.

John Debacker is the vice president of nonprofit animal rescue group Long Island Cat Kitten Solution. The Bellmore resident told Patch that it's not uncommon for dogs or pets to escape from baggage handlers and become lost in aiports or on runways. He helped find one such cat who was hiding in the ceiling at La Guardia Airport last December after it bolted during a security check.

Concerned social media users sent Debacker the news about Ettore, hoping he could help. But, as he told Patch, getting the permission to search an airport tarmac was not easy.

"It was quite difficult to get clearance. My friend Teddy Henn and I were hanging flyers in the terminal when a Port Authority worker noticed a collar found near the runway's edge by the water matched the flyer description," he explained.

After Fazio—who had landed in Italy to the news his cat was missing and panicked—appealed to the Port Authority, Debacker was finally granted supervised access to the tarmac to search for the lost feline.

Three weeks after the flight, Debacker set up an overnight camera that got a glimpse of Ettore that first night. He then set up a humane trap and after receiving an alert from the camera, went back to the airport at 1 a.m. to recover Ettore.

"The owner was very happy," Debacker says, and Ettore is now staying with Fazio's girlfriend while they plan how to get him to Italy, without incident.