Kent cat avoids catastrophe after stowing away under car bonnet

24 March 2023  

A cat undertook a hair-raising a five-mile jaunt under the bonnet of a Vauxhall Astra on the school run in Kent recently, after slinking into the engine bay unseen while the car’s owner was checking the oil.

David King found his neighbour’s four-year old cat Rose when he opened the bonnet to undertake an oil check after dropping his grandson at school in Minster.

His wife Tina told Kent Live: “We weren’t even sure it was alive. I gently prodded it with a stick to check it was breathing and saw it was a terrified little cat. It reversed even further into the engine and was stuck.”

After asking their roadside assistance service to no avail, a local vet suggested they call Cats Protection for help. After trying to get her through the bonnet again, they changed tack, jacked the car up and took off a front wheel to reach Rose from underneath.

Rose was then returned to her owner Allison Webster, who said: “She must have been so afraid when the car was moving along the roads. I feel so blessed that she had Cats Protection as well as a lovely couple who were willing and able to bring Rose home to me.”