Wild ride: Kitten survives trip from south to west Auckland stuck in car engine

A stray kitten climbed into the engine of a car in Otara, south Auckland, and ended up hitching a ride all the way to West Harbor, in west Auckland, where it was rescued and adopted by a loving family.

It was early on Saturday morning when Simone Nicholson put the call out on her local Facebook group, asking for help getting a kitten that was stuck in the motor of her partner’s car.

The kitten had come from Otara, near her partner’s home, where a few stray cats have been hanging around.

“The SPCA did come desex a lot of them but looks as though there’s a new litter,” Nicholson said.

“My partner had been seeing them around his car and seems as though one decided to catch a ride to West Harbor from Otara. He first drove to work in Wiri then to my house in West harbor.”

They could hear the kitten but had only seen it briefly, after it successfully hid in the engine area.

“This morning I opened garage door and I could hear a cat crying and some neighbors who were walking saying they saw the kitten and it’s in this car by the motor,” Nicholson told the Herald.

“We could see its tiny head under the engine but it kept hiding. I posted on our local community pages to see if someone could come help me while I got hold of the council.”

A woman on the local Facebook page sent Nicholson’s post to her partner, who is in the fire brigade at Westgate and the brigade gave Nicholson a call and arranged to visit her and help rescue the kitten.

It took a while to rescue the scared kitten, even with the help of the fire brigade. Some neighbors also tried to help and even a neighbor’s cat was hanging around trying to spot the feline.

“The kitten was hiding in the engine mount and we couldn’t see her for nearly an hour,” she recalled.

“In the end, one of the firemen started playing a cat meowing on his phone, this drew the cat into an open area under the motor and another fireman grabbed her.”

Nicholson took the cat to vet and found she is about 8 weeks old. She is healthy and eating, and has had her worm and flea treatments.

Nicholson says they have decided to name her BaCARdi. “Sounds fitting being in a car and my mum’s favorite drink on Mother’s Day weekend,” she said.

“The fire brigade were absolutely amazing and tried everything they could to rescue the kitten. I cannot thank them enough for the time and patience today to help save the kitten,” she added.

The adventurous kitten is now going to be adopted by “an amazing family”.