AA man in bizarre rescue of a kitten in Hamilton

Jul 7 2011 by Chris Clements, Hamilton Advertiser

A CAT lover was in tears during a motoring organisation’s bizarre rescue of a kitten which was trapped in a car engine.

And Liz Blair from Eddlewood in Hamilton was distraught when an animal welfare charity worker allegedly told her to “drive the car anyway,” despite fearing the feline was still stuck inside.

The incident happened near Liz’s home in Nethan Place on Tuesday morning. The mum-of-two – who also has two cats of her own – was told by neighbours a cat had been heard crying from inside her Citroen C3.

Liz (45), explained: “About 9.30am, my neighbour from across the street told me she could hear a miaowing from the car.

“When I opened the bonnet, I saw a small black kitten that could have only been four to six weeks old.

“I put my hand in to pull her out, but she burrowed back into the engine and underneath the car. I could hear her crying.”

Liz tried to coax the kitten out with food. And she asked passing residents if they had lost a pet.

“A couple said they had heard her crying all through the night, so I knew she must’ve been weak,” she said.

The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) were called and a female inspector attended more than hour later.

Continued Liz: “I was worried sick. The girl from the SSPCA had a look about the car, but she said she couldn’t see or hear anything.

“At this point, the kitten had stopped crying, so I was getting worried.

“I told her the cat was definitely there, because I had been next to the car for hours and she hadn’t escaped.”

The SSPCA officer suggested start the engine to scare the animal out, but to no avail.

Liz said: “Eventually the woman just said, Well, there is nothing here. You might as well drive your car anyway, because you’ve done all you can. Then she left. However, I couldn’t do it. I just knew the kitten was in there.

“I was quite upset as not only could the kitten be harmed, but I felt it could have possibly caused me to have a car accident.”

After attempts from her husband Robert at jacking the car up, Liz decided to call the AA.

“Just as the AA appeared, I heard a wee miaow from the car and I just burst out crying. I was glad that she was still alive.”

AA recovery driver Matt Tennant took time to take apart the car’s engine before they found the kitten near the vehicle’s petrol tank.

“Matt was fantastic. He persevered and about an hour later shouted that he could see it, jammed between the petrol tank and the body of the car, but that he could not get it out. He decided to go from the inside and dismantled the back seat, unbolted and lifted a panel, and safely retrieved the kitten, which seemed to be bright and healthy.

“The SSPCA then came back for her.”

Scottish SPCA ambulance driver Elaine Lindsay, who attended the scene, said: “We received a call about a cat stuck in a car engine. However, the cat couldn’t be seen or heard in the car. The owner of the car called the AA who dismantled part of the car and the kitten was found hiding inside.

“The kitten is female and approximately six to eight weeks old. She is now being cared for at our Lanarkshire Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre and will be rehomed.”