‘I sit down, crying, overwhelmed, embarrassed, and stressed’: Internet users rally behind cat mom after Southwest Airlines disaster

If there’s one upside to having social media, it’s that we can finally figure out which airlines to avoid — and the horror stories are endless, especially on Tiktok. This time though, it was a user on X who shared her own version of a travel nightmare involving her 7-month-old kitten.

The story was shared on Alex’s X account (@barelyyalex), where she recounted the events that led to her eviction from a Southwest Airlines flight — and it’s quite a doozy. It all started when Alex was traveling with her 7-month-old kitten, heading to LAX. However, it wasn’t a direct flight, and during a layover, the kitten became frightened by the rough landing and had an accident in his carrier. According to Alex’s first tweet, this incident ultimately led to her being “kicked off” the next flight and stranded in a random city for 12 hours.

After the original tweet gained significant traction — now boasting 162k likes — Alex shared a longer follow-up tweet detailing the situation, and it’s frankly upsetting. It was during the first flight, that Alex’s kitten, Oni, became scared during landing, and pooped — a completely normal reaction for a frightened baby animal. Once Alex realized what had happened, she went to the airplane bathroom to clean up and dispose of the waste in the trash. Unfortunately, this decision turned out to be her one mistake.

According to Alex’s account, the crew on that flight was incredibly understanding and accommodating, giving her another garbage bag for the rest of the waste. However, the real trouble began after the plane landed and after disembarking, Alex and Oni prepared to reboard the same aircraft for their connecting flight. At this point, Alex claims the carrier was completely clean and odor-free.

Omg lol this had 200 likes before I got on my flight (one more to go before I’m home) but here is a little timeline of events:

Oni (7 months old) gets scared during a rough landing and has an accident in his carrier which is fully contained.

I have a connecting flight I need to… pic.twitter.com/m25dPVTleC

— alex (@barelyyalex) December 30, 2024

But when the new crew boarded, they were reportedly far less understanding, and instead of removing the trash bag, they allegedly only closed the bathroom door due to the smell. Later, a flight attendant allegedly approached Alex in what she described as a “hostile manner,” inquiring about the situation. After hearing the explanation, the attendant supposedly said, “The bathroom is not your litter box.” Alex responded, “I know. I have a portable litter box with flushable litter. He’s just a baby and had an accident.”

Despite her breaking down in tears, describing herself as “overwhelmed, embarrassed, and stressed,” Alex was supposedly asked by a Southwest agent to leave the flight at the crew’s request. Escorted off the aircraft, Alex and Oni were rebooked on another flight departing from a different airport. This left her stranded for several hours, trying to ration Oni’s food and litter while comforting a frightened kitten in desperate need of care and quiet.

Thankfully, Alex and Oni eventually made it to their destination, albeit hours later. At least one empathetic agent offered a small silver lining, giving her a $200 voucher for a future flight and admitting the crew had overreacted. Yet, this story left a trail of frustration, with the crew that removed Alex and Oni facing the wrath of the internet.

“Wait, the smell was contained in the bathroom, and they were still pissy about it??? Worse things happen in those bathrooms!!!!!” one user vented. “What I don’t understand is why they couldn’t change the trash between flights,” someone questioned, fairly. Another added, “Like, would they kick an actual baby off the flight for having an accident?”

While some might argue that a human baby shouldn’t be equated with a kitten, the core point remains valid: you can’t control a baby’s bowel movements any more than you can control those of a young pet. Moreover, according to Southwest Airlines’ Pet policy — nowhere does it indicate the possibility of an eviction due to a pet having an accident. Do better, airlines.