A kitten from Nampa, Idaho may be down to eight lives after a close call. The animal who took an unexpected ride and was lucky to get out alive.
To humans, a car engine probably doesn't seem like the most comfortable place to hang out in. But for a scared, five week old kitten, Brian Ray's engine could seem like her best option.
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"It's crazy to have driven 17 miles to downtown Nampa to Meridian and not have noticed that i had a cat under the hood," he told CBS News.
Mr Ray had just gotten home from work when he started hearing an odd noise coming from his car.
He and his wife Amanda Ray immediately opened the car's hood.
"She dove under the engine block and we couldn't get her from below and we couldn't get from above. And, so we tried to hatch this plan," he said.
A car jack raised the front half up enough so that Ms Ray could get to the crying kitten.
"It scared me honestly. I wasn't ready to see a cat in the engine," she said.
Ms Ray remembers catching a glimpse of the small kitten and seeing a red spot on her chin.
"I was honestly afraid she was bleeding internally. And, that when i got her out, she was going to be like gushing blood," she said.
The kitten, later named Briar, was eventually caught and taken to a no-kill, cat only shelter called Simply Cats where they were able to shed some light on her injury.
"We later learned that that's called degloving. And, it is exactly that. It's when your frontal lip gets detached from your gum line," simply cats outreach coordinator Kate Beyer said.
Briar will be getting surgery to reattach the lip in a few weeks, but those at the shelter want to make sure briar's situation doesn't happen again.
"It's just very important that folks remember to incorporate some kind of loud sound into their routine," Ms Beyer said.
"We recommend that, when you walk up to your car in the morning, just give it a nice quick pound, and then jump in your car.
"That might be enough to scare any cat or kitten that's hanging out near your car."
The rays will definitely be taking her advice.
"As much as we love her, I really don't want another engine kitty," Ms Ray said.
CBS News
