Missing cat found at Dubai airport after days of searching as owner waits in Sri Lanka for Chuuti's return
The message Avishka Kaumadi had been waiting for finally arrived. Her cat, Chuuti, who disappeared at Dubai International Airport while being prepared for a flight to Sri Lanka, had been found alive after days of uncertainty. For Kaumadi, the news brought relief, but not yet a reunion. She says she is still waiting in Sri Lanka for the moment her cat is safely brought home.
For pet owners, there are few moments harder to imagine than losing sight of a cat in a place as vast and busy as an international airport. Kaumadi had already spent days without answers when the search ended with the update she had hoped for: Chuuti had been located inside a baggage carousel tunnel at Dubai International Airport.
The discovery closed one painful chapter in a story that had drawn in airline staff, ground handlers, airport authorities and many people who followed Kaumadi's appeals. It did not, however, complete the journey. Kaumadi said Chuuti still needed to be safely transported to Sri Lanka before she could hold him again.
Chuuti, the cat belonging to a Sri Lankan passenger that went missing at Dubai International Airport on October 11, has finally been found!
After a week-long search, the Dubai airport team located the cat inside a baggage carousel tunnel.
The team described the search as a mission requiring tremendous dedication, persistence and teamwork.
A happy ending to a week of uncertainty! ❤️🐾
— NewsWire 🇱🇰 (@NewsWireLK) October 21, 2026
How Chuuti disappeared
Kaumadi had been due to fly from Dubai to Sri Lanka at 11pm on October 11, with Chuuti travelling as air cargo. She said she went through the required paperwork and payment process before her cat was inspected. According to her account, Chuuti was placed back in his carrier after his details were checked against the documents.
She said that part of the process took place between about 8.30pm and 9.25pm. Only after she had passed through immigration and entered the duty-free area did she receive the call that changed everything. An airline staff member informed her that Chuuti had escaped from his carrier.
Kaumadi said she immediately asked to go back and help look for him, but was told permission was needed. She was also asked whether she would continue her trip without her cat. Her answer, she said, was clear: she would not board the flight without Chuuti.
At around midnight, she said she was taken to the cargo area with a staff member, and the two spent more than an hour calling out to the cat and trying to get his attention. The search was difficult, she said, because the area was dark and lighting was limited. Chuuti was not found then, and Kaumadi was taken back to the boarding area, where a room was arranged for her.
She remained at the airport for about 28 hours, still hoping for news.
A search carried by many people
The next day, October 12, Kaumadi returned to the airport to follow up. At one point, she was shown another white cat and asked whether it was Chuuti. She said it was not.
She was advised to return to Sri Lanka while the search continued, and her contact details were recorded for updates. That evening, she met a representative from the Dubai Airport Management Team to discuss what could be done if Chuuti was located. According to Kaumadi, she was told that arrangements could be made to send her cat to Sri Lanka, even if the process took several weeks.
The search itself was later described by the SriLankan Airlines Dubai airport team as an effort that demanded persistence, dedication and teamwork. Their update said Chuuti was eventually found in a baggage carousel tunnel.
Kaumadi, in her own message after the discovery, made clear that this was not something she believed happened through one person's effort alone. She thanked SriLankan Airlines, dnata and Dubai International Airport for what she called their dedication, cooperation and work during a difficult situation.
She also acknowledged the people who had responded to her appeals. She wrote that every prayer, message, phone call and word of kindness helped her keep going when she felt she had little strength left. That detail is part of what gives the story its shape: an owner refusing to leave without her cat, airport teams continuing the search, and a wider circle of people answering with concern and encouragement.
Found, but not home yet
When Kaumadi shared the update that Chuuti had been found, her relief came through alongside the strain of the wait she had already endured. She wrote that after days of pain, uncertainty, sleepless nights and endless waiting, the news had brought hope back to her heart.
She also made it clear that the ending she wants is still ahead of her. Although Chuuti has been found, she said she is waiting for him to be safely brought back to Sri Lanka. She wrote that knowing he had been located gave her renewed hope and strength, even before the reunion itself.
Her words about Chuuti also explain why the search mattered so deeply. She wrote that he is not just a pet to her, but her beloved child, her family and a piece of her heart. The days without him, she said, had been among the most painful of her life.
For readers who know what it means to measure time by a cat's routines, his favorite place, or the sound of him answering when called, that sentiment will feel familiar. In Kaumadi's telling, this was never only about a missing animal in a busy airport system. It was about one family member waiting for another.
Now she is in Sri Lanka, looking ahead to what she called the most beautiful moment of all, when she can finally hold Chuuti again and bring him home. Until then, she ended her message with a line directed straight at the cat who disappeared into the airport and was found after an extraordinary search: your mum is waiting to welcome you home.
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