ALERT: TSA Stopping “Cat-Eyes” From Traveling on Idaho Flights

Just a few days before what many travel experts expected to be another record setting travel weekend, the TSA issued an important reminder about an item that Idaho travelers can’t bring through security. 

Each of this summer’s major travel periods, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day, saw a record number of travelers pass through security checkpoints at airports across the country, including here in Idaho. As summer passed by, the Transportation Security Administrator saw an uptick in one particular item that is NOT permitted as part of your carry-on items. 

READ MORE: 19 Items Absolutely Banned from Carry-On Luggage at Idaho Airports

The item in question is something that you may have purchased to slip on your keyring if you’re used to walking alone places like the Boise Greenbelt or through downtown. It’s something you hope you’ll never need to use, so you may forget that it’s even on your keyring most days. 

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It’s something that the TSA calls “cat-eyes.” They look like a seemingly harmless keychain shaped like a cat’s head. In reality, they’re a self defense item that allows you to slip your fingers through the eye holes and jam the pointy ears into the body of a would be attacker. Some are made of metal, others are made of plastic. These are legal in Idaho and are currently available in the state. We found a brand called the “Equalizer” in stock at Meridian’s Scheels. 

Travelers mistakenly trying to take these through security checkpoints is understandable, as “cat-eyes” returns no results when you search for them on the TSA’s “What Can I Bring?” page. However, with an uptick in the number of these devices they’ve had to confiscate, they’re now trying to alert passengers that these are classified as “club-like items” just like brass knuckles. They made that clarification last year. 

If you’re traveling to an unfamiliar city, you may want to have your self defense items readily available. They can still come along, but they must be placed in your checked luggage. If the TSA agents at an Idaho airport find these on you, they’ll give you the option to go back to the airline counter to pack it in that bag or go back to your car and store it there until you return from your trip. If you’re on a tight schedule, you can voluntarily surrender the “cat-eyes” to the TSA and they’ll get rid of it. 

However, the TSA would like to be aware of all of this before you arrive at the security checkpoint because having to deal with these on the spot slows down the line not just for you, but for EVERYONE trying to make it to their gates. 

Have questions about other items that can or cannot fly in your carry-on luggage as you depart BOI or another one of Idaho’s airports. Here’s a refresher course.