Her adventure has made Emily, a one-year-old tabby from the US state of Wisconsin, something of a celebrity.
She somehow managed to slip into a shipping container destined for an office supplies company in Nancy, eastern France.
After a three-week sea journey she emerged somewhat thinner but healthy from the crate to the amazement of staff at the firm.
An identification collar with a vet's US telephone number allowed them to trace the relieved, and shocked, owners.
On Wednesday, Emily left for home from Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport in a somewhat more luxurious manner than her arrival.
The cat was scheduled to travel in a crate in the aircraft's hold.
However, US airline Continental offered her a seat in "business-first" class, accompanied by an employee.
The airline did not say whether Emily, who travelled in a cage, had tucked into business class cuisine.
The tourist departed France to a flurry of flashbulbs, and tears from her generous French hosts.