A cat has made three flights between New Zealand and Australia in just 24 hours after being forgotten on a plane.

Mittens, an eight-year-old Maine Coon, was booked to travel from Christchurch to Melbourne on 12 January – but her cage was left in the Air New Zealand aircraft’s cargo hold.

After waiting for three hours for Mittens at Melbourne airport, owner Margo Neas was told by ground staff the plane had already returned to New Zealand with her pet.

During that flight the heating was turned on to keep the cat comfortable, Ms Neas said. The pet – who had lost weight but was otherwise unharmed – was later flown again to Melbourne to reunite with her owner.

Speaking to NBC on Wednesday, Ms Neas said she and her son had been informed about the mishap by airport ground staff in Melbourne.

“They said: ‘Look, we have located your cat – but it’s actually on the return flight to Christchurch…’

“And I said: ‘When did you discover that the cat wasn’t taken off the plane?’ And they said: ‘We’ve only just discovered now.’ And I said: ‘How can this happen?'”

Ms Neas said she was told that the pilot had already been alerted to turn the heating on in the cargo hold where the temperature could be as low as 7C.

Air New Zealand is still looking into how Mittens was forgotten, but reports say a stowed wheelchair may have obscured a baggage handler’s view of her cage.

The airline has apologised for the distress caused and promised to reimburse all travel costs.

The company does not accept direct animal bookings from the public for international flights, so passengers must book via approved pet carrier firms.

Ms Neas said she had been relieved to be finally reunited with Mittens.

“She basically just ran into my arms and just snuggled up in here and just did the biggest cuddles of all time,” she was quoted as saying by the AP news agency on Wednesday. “It was just such a relief.”

Ms Neas, who had earlier decided to relocate to Australia, added: “It was not a great start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn’t have the family, we weren’t complete.”

The one-way flight time between Christchurch and Melbourne usually takes less than four hours.