Flight attendant warns couple to silence their meowing pet cat or face deboarding the plane

A cat owner was left panicking when a flight attendant allegedly told her to silence her cat or face being deplaned. Janelle Rupkalvis and her partner had boarded a Delta flight from Seattle to Salt Lake City with her 4-year-old cat, Asparagus, as they usually do, and settled into their seats. Asparagus, a.k.a Gus, was tucked in under the seat safely in a kennel while other passengers boarded the plane. It was moments before Rupkalvis would get a massive shock for traveling with her pet. In a viral TikTok, Rupkalvis, who goes by @janelleonajet, recalled a bizarre incident that caused her to panic thinking about her cat’s safety. 

Within minutes of boarding, a flight attendant approached the couple to inform them that if their cat continued to meow, they would be asked to leave. “We sit down and within like 30 seconds, a minute, maybe two minutes, a flight attendant comes up to us … She goes, ‘If your cat doesn’t stop meowing, we’re going to have to ask you to get off the plane',” Rupkalvis said in the video. The flight was at 5 a.m. and the couple was sitting in first class. Hence, she clarified that the commotion had overwhelmed her cat, causing her to meow until everyone settled.

When the flight attendant came up to them, Rupkalvis was expecting a routine advisory from her about their pet policy. But her words were unexpected, and the cat owner decided to comply until she figured out the accurate information about Delta’s pet policy. She and her partner tried to calm down their cat to avoid getting “kicked off.” But Rupkalvis had doubts about whether the flight attendant was correct in her actions. “I’m like, ‘There’s no way that this is a rule. I have never heard of this before,’” she recalled thinking at the time. So, Rupkalvis consulted with a Delta agent while the incident unfolded to have an upper hand on the information, in case the situation “escalates.” 

Rupkalvis read out the Delta agent’s response. “They said that the requirements are that the customer is responsible for keeping the pet passive and in the kennel for the duration of the flight, and two, the pet must be in a clean kennel that doesn’t create discomfort for other customers,” she said. The pet parent could not help but highlight the distinction between “silent” and “passive,” concluding that they were provided with inaccurate information. She swiftly requested compensation because of the “anxiety-induced situation” and Delta allegedly offered them a choice between $150 voucher or 15,000 miles per person. 

“While the initial experience was frustrating, I really appreciated that level of customer service and the effort to acknowledge and address the situation,” she later told the New York Post. As the TikTok surfaced on the internet, Delta took note of the event and investigated for more details. The airlines told PEOPLE that they were aware of the event and reiterated their pet policy. 

You can follow @janelleonajet on TikTok for more videos.