Pet owner accidentally sends their cat through X-ray machine at TSA checkpoint in Norfolk Airport

A pet cat was sent through an airport X-ray machine in Virginia after its owner failed to remove the animal from its travel bag.

TSA spokesperson, Lisa Farbstein, shared X-ray images last week that showed the cat - and its skeleton - as it passed through Norfolk Airport security.

'Please do not send your pet through the X-ray unit,' she said in a caption accompanying the image.

In the US, travelers are allowed to carry cats or small dogs onto planes. However, they should not be sent through the machine but instead inspected separately. 

'The traveler and cat had to go through screening the proper way once the TSA officers saw the X-ray image. The proper way being to remove the cat from the travel bag,' added Farbstein.

A pet cat was sent through an airport X-ray machine after its owner failed to remove the animal from its travel bag

The incident occurred at Norfolk International Airport (pictured in 2021)

X-rays carry the least amount of radiation compared to other imaging methods and the risk of health affects for animals is 'very, very low', according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. 

Farbstien has flagged similar incidents of people sending their pets through the X-ray machines in the past. 

Earlier this year TSA agents in Florida found a four-foot boa constrictor in a woman's carry-on bag.

The woman told agents at Tampa International Airport that the snake was 'an emotional support pet,' Farbstein said.

The TSA released images of the snake which showed it curled up in the corner of a tray next to ordinary items like sneakers, a belt, and a laptop.

It says it notified the airline which confirmed that it would not allow the snake in the plane's cabin. The TSA said snakes are never allowed to travel in carry-on luggage and only on some airlines can they be checked-in.

TSA spokesperson, Lisa Farbstein, warned flyers that they should not send their cats through airport X-ray machines

TSA agents in Florida found a four-foot long boa constrictor in a woman's carry-on bag after her suitcase was passed through an X-ray machine

 The woman told TSA employees that she had brought the snake with her as an 'emotional support pet'

The woman and her snake, named Bartholomew, were traveling from Tampa late last year, Farbstein said at the time. 

She tweeted: 'Woman claimed the snake was her emotional support pet. TSA notified the airline, which ruled that there was not going to be a snake on their plane!' 

That was not the first time a snake in Florida has attempted to breach airport security.

Just a couple months prior, a flight from Tampa International actually took off with a garter snake in the cabin.

United Airlines flight 2038 had just arrived at Newark after a two-hour flight from Florida when the reptile was spotted on the plane as passengers were getting ready to get off.

After the incident United said in a statement that although it has 'no weight or breed limitations for pets' flying in its aircraft, only cats and dogs are permitted.

This Ball python was discovered inside an external hard drive during a TSA screening at Miami International Airport in 2018

On another occasion in 2018, TSA employees in Miami found a ball python tied in a nylon stocking and hidden inside a hard drive by a woman traveling to Barbados.

Screeners operating the X-ray machine detected an 'organic mass' inside the electronic device, which turned out to be the snake.

A TSA spokesperson said a bomb expert examined the bag and discovered the animal.

'While this mass inside the electronic device was obviously not an imminent terrorist threat to the traveling public, the kind we are always on high alert to, the interception did prevent a possible wildlife threat on an aircraft,' she said.

The passenger was fined, and the snake was taken into custody by US Fish and Wildlife Services. Neither woman nor snake made the flight.