One family had quite a surprise when they learned that four cats were hiding in the underbelly of their vehicle.
That’s why important to be mindful of our furry feline friends when we get in our cars, especially in the winter.
Cats who roam the neighborhood will seek out warm spots to shield themselves from the cold or just find a comfy spot for a nap.
A car engine from a freshly parked car can be the perfect cozy spot to warm up.
But if we’re not aware that the cat is there, then they can be harmed when we start up our cars or drive off.
“I’ve been in the pet industry for thirteen years, and every year there is a story that comes up about a cat that’s gotten trapped in a car [engine],” Jane Harrell, former Editor-in-Chief of Pet Health Network told PetHealth Network.
“I’m hoping we can share the message about this and help save a lot of cats out there.”
It’s best to keep your cat indoors during the winter.
You should also check the underside of your car, as well as pound lightly on your car’s hood or slam the door before you start the car.
You might also want to try giving your horn a honk.
Then wait a minute before starting your engine.
Doing these things can help wake any cats that are taking a snooze under your car and will give them enough time to run away before you drive off.
A 7-month-old Tabby cat named Maddie was trapped under her family’s car.
The family had no idea and drove about 100 miles with the cat stowed away in the car.
The family ended up driving for about 90 minutes long before they found Maddie.
Thankfully, she was OK. If you do find a cat under your car and it won’t come out, there are things you can do to try and lure it.
“Drawing a cat out of hiding under a car is not easy,” Senior Cat Wells writes.
“You will need patience and a delicate, tactile approach. The key is ensuring the cat feels it is exchanging one safe place for another. If handled with delicacy, the cat will willingly leave its hiding place underneath a car.”
You can try using treats or toys to lure your cat out from under the car.
You might also try to scare it as a last resort while making sure it doesn’t run off into traffic or somewhere unsafe.
You can learn more about that here.
Thankfully one family didn’t have to resort to that in order to remove four kittens from the inside of their car.
The rescue was caught on video which was viewed more than 65,000 times on YouTube. The family had to take their car to a garage after hearing some meowing.
“I wonder how the cat got in here? After hearing the sounds of a kitten, we had to take the car and check it in the garage and found four kittens. These four cats are all healthy, and have been adopted by people,” the video’s caption reads.
To free the kittens, the mechanics had to put their car on a lift and disassemble to part of the car.
When the panel of the car was removed, there were four little babies laying on top of it.
Thankfully, all the cute kitties were just fine. You can check out their adorable rescue in the video below.
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