Emerged from the engine bay.
Yesterday, Ann’s quick trip to Walmart to pick up some baking supplies went awry.
As she walked by some cars on her way into Walmart, she began hearing the cries of what sounded like a small kitten. Perplexed. she followed the sound to a Chevy Cruz. She looked inside the car, but then realized the sound was coming from under the hood. A woman with five kids wandered by about that time and also heard the cat.
Ann and the woman with the kids did their best to coax the cat from the engine bay, but it seemed the kitten was stuck. Though the car was unlocked, they were unsure how to proceed, so Ann went inside of Walmart to have the car’s owner paged. The owner didn’t hear the page.
Then, Ann called the local police’s non-emergency number; in turn they requested the animal control people assist. Unfortunately, the one animal control person on duty was in another town. Then, Ann contacted the local animal shelter, only to find out that they and other shelters are over-capacity. If the shelter got the cat, it would likely be euthanized.
That left Ann with a choice. Given the cat seemed to be stuck in the engine, leave the kitten to die OR try to rescue the kitten. Of course, you already know the decision she made ….
Forty-five minutes after initially first hearing the kitten, and with the kitten’s meow getting weaker and weaker, an elderly man approached and asked what the Hell are they were doing laying on the hot asphalt wedged under his car.
They explained a kitten was trapped in his engine compartment. A grumpy old man, he stated he didn’t have no ‘damn’ cats and neither did his neighbors.
According to Ann, he was a gem, lol.
Ann and the woman finally got him to open the hood. It was only then they they were able to free the poor little guy. By then, his mews were very very faint and far apart and he was just limp. Now, what to do with the kitten?
Ann’s co-rescuer refused the pleas of her 5 children to take the kitten home, so, despite her cat allergies (she is allergic to most, but not all cats), she decided to bring the cat home.
A quick call to the local vet, resulted in a quick triage to make sure it didn’t need immediate care. After checking the kitten, the vet put “it” as a “he” who is roughly six weeks old and just under a pound. While under-nourished, he isn’t starved and didn’t appear to be in any immediate danger. So, the vet set us up with some food and recommended her lot of water.
Given the kitten is a he (aka Tom cat) and given it was stuck in the engine bay of a Chevy Cruz, what else could we call this tiny kitten other than Tom Cruze??
Finally eating some food…
Our girls are beside themselves with curiosity an way overwhelming love for the kitten. Mr. Tom Cruz has endured more saliva and licks than any kitten should have to endure. Once the kitten-as-curiosity subsides, everyone *should* get along just fine.
He sure looks better in the second pic. Enjoy.
It is a good-looking cat, so it should add to the family! Similar story to that of my friend, Glenn. Was up early, driving his contractor van to a job, when he heard ‘meowing’ from the engine compartment. Pulled to the side of the road, but could not get the cat out for love nor money. He was scared as to what he would find! Once home, kitty-kibble underneath the van worked, and the family kept him. Of course, they named the cat ‘Dodge.’
plainly a russian blue — i had one years ago — i called him kommie kat — one day he bit me on the ankle and ran away from home — its was like a snake bite — a year later he came back and died under my 1950 673 willys overland wagon — very odd — the willys elephant / cat graveyard ? — i planted him behind the barn , with full russian military honors — 4 feet down , 4 paws up …
Wicked story, all the best to Little Tom and all the best to Ann and her co rescuer.
Dave-
That is a great rescue story and Tom Cruze is a perfect name for him. Glad he will have big “sisters” to watch over him!. Good job Ann!!!
Dave…..already had an idea that you were a good man……with a great partner, but this puts both of you on an even higher pedestal !! I come from a cat rescue family. Very ironically, my brother had a new dark gray, several month old kitten show up five days ago on the back porch of our mother’s old house. ! I sure hope Tom can be accepted with open arms by the rest of the “family”. Hopefully his canine sisters will quickly teach him NOT to get to close to the pasture fence where those evil pooping cows hang out !
The worst day of that kitten’s life, as well as the best day of his life, were the same day! He is incredibly fortunate to have been magically transported from what must’ve seemed like total hell straight into absolute heaven. You and Ann will be his kind and loving “parents” for the rest of his lucky little life.
Please keep us up to speed on your latest family member from now on!
You folks “Rock!” We just love to read stories like this.
Great story! Thanks to Ann for her persistence and hope Tom Cruze does very well in his new forever home!
Well done.
She is a far better person than the grumpy old man with the Chevy Cruz. Really, what a jerk.
Mr. Cruze seems to be settling in quickly. He’s eating, peeing, and pooping. Oh, and he has working claws …. a fact driven home when we found him climbing the new curtains as if he were mimicking Tom Cruise’s Dead Horse Point climb in Mission Impossible 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s5KFbyBmrQ). Needless to say, Ann was unimpressed by Mr. Cruze’s feat of daring.
Meanwhile, one of our dogs, Lizzy, is OBSESSED with the pup. She just can’t get enough of hovering over him. Meanwhile, Betty Page, the lover and motherly type, has been much more gentle and, at this point, less obsessed.
If Tom Cruze survives the pups, which seems plausible, then he can survive pretty much anything.
Speaking of past cats …. when I lived in Wisconsin my ex-wife and I got a barn cat we named Tucker (the movie had recently come out). Shortly thereafter, one of my fellow employees at the bank where I worked found four kittens on the side of the road in a bag, two of which had been run over by a car. She could only take one of the living cats, so I took the other home, an orange male cat we named Dodger (Dodge being a car name to match Tucker and dodger being the luck necessary to dodge the car tires). Tucker and Dodger would survive our move to Salt Lake City, though Tucker eventually disappear (ran away or was eaten .. who knows). Dodger lived to an old age.
Good going Ann !
Dave & Ann.
Happy to hear that “Tommy” has found a loving family. Stray cats always seemed to find their way to our house back in Clifton. In the 1980’s, I had my CJ2A parked in the garage. I made a pet door in the garage door for my strays to open and let themselves in, they all had their Assigned seats in the 2A, and as amazing as it sounds, they always picked the same seat. If one cat, usually the male didn’t show up, his seat would remain empty. I don’t think there is any such thing as a dumb animal.
Makes me happy to read this post.