Meowmeow the cat probably learned a lesson in sneaking away from her owners after she had to make a cross-country flight to rejoin her family last month.

Hays animal control officer Pam Jones and her son, Tyler, ended up taking the cat with them to Memphis, Tenn. — where Tyler had a medical appointment — and were met at the airport by the parents of Meowmeow’s owners. The parents eventually delivered the vagabond cat to its family.

Meowmeow had wandered away while the Polk family stopped at a Hays motel June 5. They were en route to Fort Bragg, where the father needed to return to his military base after leave.

Unable to search longer than three hours for Meowmeow, the family left their name and phone number with the motel, the police and the animal shelter before leaving town.

When the cat showed up, Jones was summoned to get her from her hiding place in the motel laundry room, Jones said. She called the owner.

“He was like, ‘What are we going to do now?’ ” Jones said.

But Jones was able to offer for her son to escort the cat to Memphis.

“It just so happened that this cat got lost when we were scheduled to go back for follow-up,” Jones said.

After checking on what all would be necessary to get the cat on an airplane, the Polks wired money to cover the cost of getting a health certificate and airplane tickets for the cat, Jones said.

Then the trip began.

“The cat did not like the plane trip, especially take-off here in Hays,” Jones said.

But despite the cat’s dislike for the first part of the trip, she calmed down and was quiet in her carrier while they were at the Kansas City airport.

The Joneses had a six-hour delay in Kansas City because their plane from Hays arrived late and they missed their connecting flight. Nevertheless, Meowmeow was quiet in her carrier, Jones said.

“We spent six hours in the airport with this cat,” Jones said. “Nobody knew we had a cat. Either Tyler would take a walk and get some exercise or I would take a walk and get some exercise. Nobody knew in the Kansas City airport that we had a cat.”

Doreen Polk met Tyler and Meowmeow at the Memphis airport and took her from there, Jones said.

“Since then, I’ve heard from Doreen Polk, and the cat has made it to Fort Bragg,” Jones said.