NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A traveler sent their pet cat through the X-ray machine in a carry-on bag at the Norfolk Airport (ORF) Friday morning.

We’re not kitten.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) tweeted out a picture with proof and a reminder to travelers to always remove your pet from the carrying case, then place the case through the X-ray machine. Animal carriers will undergo a visual and/or physical inspection.

“We are seeing more people traveling with their pets and too many people are leaving them in the carrier case and sending them through the machine,” TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein told the Washington Post. “No living creature, human or animal, needs to be exposed to X-rays they don’t need.”

A traveler left their pet cat in its travel carrying case at a TSA checkpoint on March 3, 2023 at the Norfolk Airport. (TSA photo) .

Pets are not permitted inside airport terminals at the Norfolk Airport unless they are traveling by air in a kennel or carrier. Service and emotional support animals must remain on a leash at all times.

WAVY reached out to ORF to ask what happened to the cat in this incident. Lisa Farbstein with TSA said the cat and its owner had to go through the checkpoint the proper way. The owner held the pet and they went through the checkpoint together.

So, in the end, the cat’s out of the bag.

If a pet is on a leash, the owner will walk it through a metal detector. She said pet owners can request that the animal be screened in a private room in case it’s jumpy.

If you are passing through ORF with a pet, there are “pet relief areas” located at the Departures Terminal in grassy areas near Door A, Door C, and Door D, at the Arrivals Terminal in grassy areas near Door 0 and Door 5, and near the Daily East Parking Lot in the grassy area near the pedestrian sidewalk.