Melbourne (Australia) - A cat has flown back and forth between New Zealand and Australia several times in 24 hours after its cage was overlooked in the cargo hold.

While cat mom Margot Neas waited in vain at Melbourne airport for "Mittens" to be unloaded from the plane, her Maine Coon cat involuntarily took off again.

Together with her owner, the eight-year-old feline had flown from the New Zealand city of Christchurch to Australia in mid-January as part of a relocation, as reported by"The Associated Press". The flight took almost eight hours!

After the first landing, however, the journey was far from over for Mittens, as the little furry friend was simply overlooked in her transport box in the hold. The Air New Zealand plane took off again shortly afterwards and Mittens had to travel all the way back again.

When the mishap was noticed, the ground crew in Melbourne informed the pilot about the animal globetrotter. After arriving in New Zealand, Mittens had to recharge his batteries and fly back to Melbourne one last time for hours.

Mittens flew the Christchurch-Melbourne route three times in one day, spending almost 24 hours in her little box.

However, the little frequent flyer survived the trip unscathed, only losing a little weight, her mistress explained. Meanwhile, the airline announced that it would reimburse all costs associated with Mittens' journey.