An x-ray captured a shocking find inside luggage at John F. Kennedy International Airport in the US.

The Transportation Security Administration posted photos of an x-ray of a bag with a live cat trapped inside.

If it hadn't been for the x-ray alerting officers to the stowaway, the cat would have been on a flight from New York to Florida.

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"We're letting the cat out of the bag on a hiss-toric find," the TSA said in a Facebook post.

"This CATch had our baggage screening officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport – JFK saying, "Come on meow"!"

TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said an officer was "shocked" to find the orange cat inside the checked bag.

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"Traveller said the cat belonged to someone else in his household," Farbstein said.

"On the bright side, the cat's out of the bag and safely back home."