“Upset in the Skies: Flight Attendant Gives Cat Owner an Ultimatum That Turns Heads!”
Flying with pets can truly feel like a high-stakes mission—one where every meow, bark, or squawk seems to echo through the cabin like an alarm bell. Ever found yourself questioning if your furry friend will be more of a wingman or a wild card? Well, travel influencer Janelle Rupkalvis recently faced an unforgettable moment when a Delta flight attendant suggested she might need to calm her meowing cat, affectionately named Asparagus (or Gus for short), or risk getting booted off the plane! Imagine that kind of pressure while realizing your feline companion isn’t just yowling for mischief but rather reacting to the chaos of air travel. Follow along as we navigate this tail of turbulence, emotional support, and the surprising outcome that left Janelle (and perhaps a few passengers) in awe. Spoiler alert: it’s a lesson in kindness and understanding—even for the most trying travel scenarios! LEARN MORE.
Flying on a plane can be quite stressful for pets and their owners alike. What helps in these situations is having the support of an empathetic and kind cabin crew. Unfortunately, mistakes happen, and sometimes employees aren’t able to make their passengers and pet parents feel at ease during their travels.
Travel influencer Janelle Rupkalvis (@janelleonajet) went viral on TikTok and in the media after opening up about a recent stressful trip with Delta Air Lines. In a viral video, she shared how a flight attendant asked her to keep her cat—Asparagus, aka Gus—quiet or else she’d have to get off the plane. Scroll down for the full story.
Bored Panda got in touch with Rupkalvis, and she was kind enough to tell us more about what happened and how the company handled the situation with grace. She also shared some practical advice about traveling with a pet and told us all about her cat, Gus! You’ll find our full interview with her below.
“No airline is perfect. Delta’s response to this situation was thoughtful and reassuring. Mistakes happen, but it’s how companies handle them that makes all the difference, and Delta’s follow-up was a great example of that,” she said.
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Traveling anywhere with your pet can be stressful for the animal, so it’s natural that it makes a bit of noise
Image credits: EyeEm / freepik (not the actual photo)
Travel influencer Janelle Rupkalvis went viral after sharing how a flight attendant told her to keep her cat quiet or else they’d have to leave the plane
Image credits: janelleonajet
Flight attendant said the craziest thing to us yesterday. We’re flying from Seattle to Jacksonville with a layover in Salt Lake City, and our first flight was at like, 5 a.m. We get on the plane, we’re in first class. We board with zone one because we want to get him settled.
We got to get our stuff put away, all that stuff, and I’m not kidding you, we sit down, and within like 30 seconds, a minute, maybe two minutes, flight attendant comes up to us, and I think that they’re going to remind us that, “Oh, you have a cat, they have to stay in the carrier the whole time.” Like, that’s a pretty common reminder that we get when we’re traveling with pets. But no, instead, she goes, “If your cat doesn’t stop meowing, we’re gonna have to ask you to get off the plane.”
Image credits: janelleonajet
And I was like, what? One, he’s a cat. Two, he’s not screaming, he’s meowing, because there’s a lot of commotion. Bags being put in the bin. There’s bags being put underneath the plane. There’s just a lot going on, scary things for a little guy who’s sitting in a little carrier underneath the seat.
I was like, “Are you serious?” I’ve never heard this before. We fly with him a lot, and she’s like, “If you can’t get him to stop, we’ll have to ask you to deplane.” The first thought, I didn’t say this, but I was like, so if parents have kids that are crying, do we make them deplane? Like, how is this any different? But I did not say that. I did not go there. I was just like, um, okay.
Image credits: janelleonajet
So now we’re panicked. No one said anything to this flight attendant, we’ve been on the plane for that little amount of time. This flight attendant just, I don’t know if they don’t like cats or what, but I could not believe how quickly this all happened, and I’m shocked again. It’s five in the morning. We barely got any sleep, so now we’re panicked, trying to get Gus to be quiet while everyone’s boarding and making noise around us so we don’t get kicked off this flight. But I also, I’m like, there’s no way that this is a rule. I’ve never heard this before.
So I text Delta, and I asked them to clarify what the actual policy is so I’m prepared in case the situation escalates. They said, “I don’t believe that you can be removed only because your cat is meowing. However, let me check the pet policies to be 100% certain.” They come back and they say 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 does not create discomfort for other customers. Well, we have a clean kennel. There’s no discomfort there, and the requirement is for the pet to be passive, not silent. Like, that is a huge distinction.
