Cat survives 3,400 mile journey after she travelled inside owner's bag from Cairo to London stacked in plane's luggage hold Persian Bisou was accidentally packed inside owner Mervat Ciuti's luggage Was only discovered when owner's relatives rang her from Cairo Is now in quarantine in England and can return in the summer This is a cat who has certainly used up one its nine lives - after it survived a 3,400 journey from Egypt to the UK when she was accidentally packed in her owner's suitcase. Mervat Ciuti only realised her mistake when she was called by relatives in Cairo as she sat in a taxi in Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, on her way to visit her sister. She was so convinced her beloved pet Bisou, a seven-year-old Persian would be dead that she had to get the taxi driver to check her luggage. Trip of a lifetime: Bisou the cat who travelled in his owners luggage from Egypt to the UK An unimpressed-looking Bisou recreates the moment a taxi driver opened her owner's luggage and discovered the back-packing pussy But when he opened the case they found that Bisou was happily curled up along with her clothes and enjoying a cat nap. Vets said it was a 'miracle' the animal survived after its long journey in the cargo hold of a plane. But Bisou has not yet been able to return home as he has been put in quarantine for six months. Ms Ciuti, 42, believes she unwittingly zipped her pet inside the case after Bisou crawled in for a nap. The cat somehow managed to go unnoticed through security at Cairo airport and was stacked into the hold of the plane with hundreds of other bags. She was called by relatives, who realised the cat was missing, as Ms Ciuti travelled from Heathrow along the M1 to her sister's home. Her sister Monica, 40, said: 'When she realised what had happened she said she was trembling. She thought she would be dead. Mike Binks, owner of Calagran Kennels in Chesterfield, says it's a miracle that Bisou survived the plane journey How could she survive? At the airport the cases could have been thrown and banged about. Mervat, 42, returned to Egypt after spending a few weeks staying at a flat in Mapperley, Nottingham, and visiting her sister. But she had to leave Bisou in quarantine at a kennels in Chesterfield, where she is still waiting for the all-clear to be shipped safely back to Egypt in the summer. Mike Binks, owner of the centre, described the cat's adventure as a 'miracle'. He said: 'She's a healthy, happy, laid-back Persian who likes sitting outside in the sunshine. 'I've never heard anything quite like it before. Apparently she was fine and when the bag was opened was like "well this is comfortable, if a bit different." Air miles moggy: Bisou slipped through security at Cairo unspotted and was stacked into the hold of the plane with hundreds of other bags for the six-hour flight He added: 'I spent 21 years working for British Airways before I did this and in holds you get the same air as you get upstairs but it's not circulated or heated. 'But if you think about it she would have been well insulated with all the other bags around her and she's very furry with a massive coat. In my experience cats and dogs have got into holds and its just luck whether or not they survive. Ms Ciuti was in a cab on the M1 en route to her sister Monica's home in Nottinghamshire when a relative in Cairo called on her mobile to say it was thought she had accidentally packed her own pet. Monica, 40, said: 'They stopped the cab and the taxi driver offered to look as she was so upset. He said "don't look" as he opened the bag for her. But Bisou was alive. My sister just had her in her lap in the taxi the rest of the way to Nottingham. The Persian cat is more used to Cairo than Nottinghamshire - and will soon be allowed to return home When she got into the flat in Mapperley where my sister was staying she was scared because it was a strange place and hid under the bed. 'We just couldn't believe it. Our family had looked everywhere and they realised she must have got into the suitcase. It was so unexpected. After Mervat took her cat to the vet for a check-up following her ordeal on December 28, Bisou was put into quarantine at Calagran Kennels Chesterfield, where she is still waiting for the all-clear to be shipped safely back to Egypt in the summer. Notts County Council's Trading Standards department arranged for Bisou to be kept in quarantine after they were contacted by the vet which Mervat had taken her to. Animal importation issues fall under the remit of trading standards. Trading Standards manager Mark Hughes said: 'It is a very unusual situation as we have dealt with cats coming into the UK in cargo containers - but never a suitcase! It was New Year's Eve when we got the call; we just didn't believe it. I'm amazed it survived.' It is illegal to bring a pet into the UK without the right travel documents, which from Egypt include proof of rabies vaccinations, which Monica said Bisou had had done. Trading Standards said they took no further action in Bisou's case as they were satisfied she had been brought in by mistake.