Cat made three flights within 24 hours of being left on the plane

Speaking to NBC on Wednesday, Ms Neas said she and her son had been told about the crash by airport staff in Melbourne.

“They said: ‘Look, we’ve found your cat – but it was actually on the flight back to Christchurch…’

“And I said: ‘When did you find out that the cat was not taken off the plane?’ And they said: ‘We have only found it now.’ And I said: ‘How can this happen?'”

Ms Neas said she was told the pilot had been alerted to turn on the heating in the cargo hall where temperatures could reach 7C.

The incident is still under investigation, but reports say the stowed wheelchair may have obscured the baggage handler’s view of Mittens’ cage.

Air New Zealand has apologized for the inconvenience caused, promising to refund all travel costs.

The company does not accept orders for animals directly from the public for international flights, so passengers must book through an approved pet carrier.

Ms Neas said she was relieved to finally be reunited with Mitten.

“He basically just hit my arm and just crawled in here and just had the biggest cuddles of all time,” she was quoted as saying by the AP news agency on Wednesday. “It’s just a relief.”

Ms Neas, who had previously decided to move to Australia, added: “It wasn’t a good start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn’t have a family, we weren’t complete.”

One-way flight time between Christchurch and Melbourne is usually less than four hours.