This cat picture is by the Animal Services Division of the City of Rancho Cordova in California. It is a classic because domestic cats stuck in engine compartments (the place where the engine in housed) are commonplace in winter. I have seen many pictures of cats stuck in this warm area of a vehicle and this is the best one, to date, that I have seen, which is why I have taken the time to publish it here.
This ginger tabby cat, named Oliver, had crawled into the engine in an area of Sacramento called Pocket and Greenhaven and ended up at Rancho Cordova about 20 miles away. The rescuers knew this because Oliver was microchipped and his chip was up to date.
Oliver had squeezed himself into his neighbour’s car. His neighbour had then driven the 23 minute drive to Rancho Cordova (or 32 mins depending on the route). This is provided he went direct from his home to his destination.
Oliver luckily survived without being burned by the engine or injured by the cooling fan.
Animal Services had help from Costco Tire and Lee’s Automative to release Oliver. They had to remove some engine parts! This is quite normal. But it always makes me think why did they have to remove bits of the engine when a cat got into that space? Can’t they just remove him via the same route he used to get in? It is not that simple, obviously.
In all the reports of cats trapped in engine compartments I have never seen anything but exemplary human behaviour in rescuing the cat. They are awesome. Such tenderness and helpfulness. It is not always like that.
The moral is to always check under the trunk (bonnet in the UK) before setting off in winter but who does that? It is hard to remember and people are in general too wrapped up in their personal issues to think of cats.
SOME MORE ON CATS IN EMERGENCIES:
