Cat found hungry after 3 weeks in cargo hold

updated 3:52 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2007

DENVER - A 12-year-old orange tabby cat named "Pumpkin" is said to be doing well, after going three weeks without food or water in the cargo hold of a passenger jet that flew from England to Germany.

After the United Airlines flight to Munich last month, Pumpkin was supposed to board a connecting flight to Washington, D.C. but never made it.

Andrea Barlow says she found the cat's carrier broken and empty when she tried to retrieve it in Munich on December 28th. United Airlines crews searched for the cat, who was nowhere to be found.

On Wednesday United cargo workers found the tired, hungry animal at Denver International Airport. She was taken to a veterinary clinic for treatment of starvation and extreme dehydration.

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Vets say Pumpkin could be well enough to return to Washington by this weekend.

United plans to fly the cat home — in the passenger cabin — on the lap of a United employee.

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