Photo: Royal Navy
Now that the cold season is upon us, you probably have at least one friend on Facebook who is all too eager to start spreading those messages alerting people to the danger of having cats hidden inside their cars' engine bays or wheel arches.
Well, the thing is they are right. If you live in an area where it's likely to have stray cats running around, sooner or later the warmth of the engine is surely going to attract one of them. Just like you get home from work, take a shower and relax on the sofa, the cat too is at the end of a busy day scavenging or hunting for food, so it feels like it deserves a bit of R&R.
And when presented with the options of sleeping on the cold pavement or next to a radiator - where not only is it warm, but it's also safe from other predators - they will always choose the latter. Of course, being cats, they don't have the decency of leaving you a note in the door alerting of their presence. So when, just as you were about to drop onto the couch, you realize you're all out of beer, an unscheduled run presents itself.
As you get in the car, you hurry to switch on the engine so that the heater comes on. That leaves the cat no time to react, so before it knows it, it's caught between the hammer and the anvil. On the one hand, there are the countless moving engine parts, and on the other, there's the rapidly-moving pavement. Most of the times, they choose to stay. After all, at least it's warm.
These measures would have probably spared Tigger its 300-mile journey, but at the same time, it would have also prevented the cute kitten from getting featured in the Royal Navy and Marines charity calendar.
The man who found the little cat was Lieutenant Nick Grimmer at the end of a Birmingham-Cornwall trip. It was a "very quiet meowing" that alerting the helicopter pilot to the kitten's presence, the Telegraph reports.
What followed next was a bit of dismember-fest, as the cat was nowhere to be found. With a bit of help from the unit's air engineers, the car's rear bumper was taken off and out emerged Tigger - a little scared but other than that, unharmed.
After attempts to find its eventual owners failed, Nick adopted the kitten and gave it its name. "I am never late for work and was left with no option but to take my new friend in with me. The place he has felt most comfortable is in my flying helmet, which is the only place he is able to sleep." These cats... they don't play fair.
And when presented with the options of sleeping on the cold pavement or next to a radiator - where not only is it warm, but it's also safe from other predators - they will always choose the latter. Of course, being cats, they don't have the decency of leaving you a note in the door alerting of their presence. So when, just as you were about to drop onto the couch, you realize you're all out of beer, an unscheduled run presents itself.
As you get in the car, you hurry to switch on the engine so that the heater comes on. That leaves the cat no time to react, so before it knows it, it's caught between the hammer and the anvil. On the one hand, there are the countless moving engine parts, and on the other, there's the rapidly-moving pavement. Most of the times, they choose to stay. After all, at least it's warm.
Countermeasures
A simple way to prevent this is to check the car before you leave. Since that can be time-consuming, a simple knock in the hood and a quick wheel check should be enough. Plus, keep the music down so you can hear the meowing and stop if necessary.These measures would have probably spared Tigger its 300-mile journey, but at the same time, it would have also prevented the cute kitten from getting featured in the Royal Navy and Marines charity calendar.
The man who found the little cat was Lieutenant Nick Grimmer at the end of a Birmingham-Cornwall trip. It was a "very quiet meowing" that alerting the helicopter pilot to the kitten's presence, the Telegraph reports.
What followed next was a bit of dismember-fest, as the cat was nowhere to be found. With a bit of help from the unit's air engineers, the car's rear bumper was taken off and out emerged Tigger - a little scared but other than that, unharmed.
After attempts to find its eventual owners failed, Nick adopted the kitten and gave it its name. "I am never late for work and was left with no option but to take my new friend in with me. The place he has felt most comfortable is in my flying helmet, which is the only place he is able to sleep." These cats... they don't play fair.
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