Have you ever lost your cat in your car? This lady did for two weeks! I don’t actually blame her. I feel it could happen to the best of us.
Update: Next day. I am sorry if I put the wrong spin on this story. It can be hard to find a balance between making stories interesting and different and at all times respecting the cat. The cat was unharmed but of course had a really tough time whilst trapped. But the question in the title is real. It is possible for a cat to hide in some cars where there are small spaces and that applies equally to the passenger compartment.
The cat, Princess, a cute and laid back, semi-longhaired moggie had clambered into the engine compartment of the lady’s BMW and got stuck. Princess remained in the engine compartment for two weeks while her owner tried to find her. Over that period she did quite a bit of travelling and even went through a car wash!
She found her when she had to open up the bonnet (hood) because a warning light had come on. The light had come on because Princess had clawed at the coolant hose and it had leaked! An engineer had to dismantle a part of the engine compartment to get her out.
As is so typical of the wonderfully resilient domestic cat, after the coolant had been washed off she resumed where she had left off two weeks before her adventure, having a nice meal and a drink. It was as if nothing had happened, almost. The only change to her life was that she had lost a lot of weight. Surprised? It appears she did not drink either.
Elisa has written a number of pages about cats going under the hood of a car. Sealy is a classic example of a cat injured by a fan blade. Watch those engine compartments. Lost your cat in your car? Look under under the hood (bonnet).
I agree, Ruth, that to let cats roam around a car while travelling is fraught with potential danger. I allowed it to happen (for two cats) about 25 years ago. However, the journey was a very long one: from London to the west coast of Ireland! I sort of had to let them out. I temporarily lost the girl but she ended up on the dashboard looking out of the window 🙂 That was her position for many miles. But, yes, many possible problems. Cats can get in the way of the pedals, for example.
Two good points. It is strange that Princess did not get out. I sense that she was able to get in but unable to get out. That might not make sense because there must have been a space large enough to get through and cats can back up – go into reverse – to extricate themselves from tight spots. So, yes, I agree it is strange. Perhaps she was hiding from something.
Your comment about leash walking and open spaces is interesting. The danger you described would not cross people’s minds and is therefore well worth mentioning.
Thank goodness Princess was OK after that ordeal!
It’s a miracle she survived.
As for cats in cars, I may be quite paranoid about ‘thinking cat’ but there are so many ways they can get into trouble, one is letting them travel free in a car, if an accident happened the cat would be totally vulnerable and emergency services cutting out a human couldn’t chase after a frantic and shocked possibly injured cat if he panicked and ran. It’s always best to put a cat in a proper secure cat carrier for any journey no matter how short.
How awful for you Marc. Cats on leads are a HUGE no no to me, they are CATS not dogs, cats were never meant to be led along by a collar or harness and lead….yes I know, some accept it but it’s not natural and it makes me sad when cats are not allowed to be cats doing what cats like to do.
We took our cat for a walk on a lead once and it was a total 100% disaster – he climbed up into the engine and refused to come out. This is a horrible thing to happen because you really cant force them out even if you are holding a lead attached to them. It’s dirty and horrible inside a car engine. I literally had to scare Pepi back out the bottom of the engine whilst my girlfriend held the lead. I will never do that again – ever. A cat on a lead can go under anything or in a small gap and you can’t do a thing about it. Personally I don’t advise walking cats on a lead without making sure you are walking in the middle of an open area where there is nothing the cat can go in or under. Engines being one possibbility. I am suprised the cat did not respond when the lady called for her – it’s a little strange no?
You are correct. I was a bit disrespectful. The reason is that the cat was unharmed and the story ended well. I apologise if I wrote the article in too jokey a manner. It can be difficult to find the right balance sometimes between making it interesting whilst always respecting the cat.
And there is another aspect this. It is possible to temporarily lose your cat in the car if she is allowed to roam in the car because there are some little spaces where a cat can hide. This happened to me once when I drove to Ireland with my cats.
Not funny, Michael. I am allowed to state the truth, since you are moderating.