Kitten stuck under hood of car, rescued

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A kitten has been freed by rescuers after being stuck under the hood of a car.

Cries for help came from a parked car in a resident's driveway. "There he is. He's going toward the back," said a firefighter.

A tiny kitten somehow found its way under the hood of a car and couldn't get out. "He is right near this back wheel, behind the wheel right there," said another fighter, as he helped his partner find the kitten.

Rescuing cats from trees has almost become cliche for firefighters, but this incident was unusual. The firefighters had to think of all sorts of ways to rescue the kitten. They could hear it, but they couldn't see it or reach it.

Some of their methods seemed to frighten the feline, the crew poking and prodding around the engine with a metal wire hanger. "We don't want to scare you," said a firefighter.

However, the kitten did everything it could to elude being captured. "There he is. He's crawling toward the back," a firefighter yelled.

In the end, teamwork and patience prevailed and firefighters were able to free the young feline. "Just the size of the cat and its location made it difficult to extricate him from the vehicle," said Fort Lauderdale Fire Lieutenant.

The owner of the car may have driven as far as 16 miles from a car dealership before realizing he had a stowaway. "I don't charge him [for the ride]. It was free. I drive safe, I'm sure he was happy about that," said Fateh Karimin, the car's owner.

Firefighters said the cat would not be alive if Karimin hadn't notified police. "It's very fortunate for the cat. Actually, it's good on his part that he heard the cat and called us right away before the cat died," said Pereny.

Now that the kitten is safe and sound, the next order of business is finding it a home. "I've never had that experience, but right now, I just hope he finds his mom. He looks sad for his mom, poor cat," said Karimin.

Karimin said he plans to return to the dealership to search for the cat's mother and any possible siblings.

(Copyright 2008 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)