Woman hides cat in handbag on 7,000-mile flight between Canada and New Zealand

A Canadian woman hid her pet cat in a handbag and took it on a 7,000-mile flight from Vancouver to New Zealand, according to authorities.

The unnamed woman and her husband then tried smuggling the feline past border control agents at Auckland Airport - but was caught.

She was eventually refused entry into the country and forced to catch the next flight back home with Bella, her four-year-old tabby.

Her attempts at smuggling the cat into the Pacific country were described as "reckless and dangerous" by a New Zealand Government spokesperson.

New Zealand has strict regulations for importing pets

Cats and dogs from most approved countries must have an implanted microchip and be kept in quarantine for a minimum of 10 days after arrival.

"Apparently it was a very quiet cat. Very docile," Ministry for Primary Industries spokesman Craig Hughes said, adding that it may have been given some drugs to make it drowsy.

He said that when the couple arrived at the airport, they said they had nothing to declare.The woman was "very reluctant" to have her small handbag X-rayed and insisted it had already been checked.

She finally admitted there was a cat inside, but then said she'd told a ticketing agent about Bella when she purchased her ticket.

Hughes said even if the woman's story were true, which he doubted, it was still unacceptable to bring a cat across the border without declaring it.

She then became upset about being sent home.

"She had plans to have a nice holiday with her husband in New Zealand," Hughes said. "And her cat."