Cat in a Camaro - 8th June, 2018

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You will probably have heard the story of the Auckland cat that survived a 4.5 hour trip stuck behind the grill of a Chevy Camaro this week. There are a couple of questions that need to be answered here: Ford fans will be asking how a Chev managed to drive non-stop for 360kms? But more importantly, why was the cat there in the first place? Well this scenario is not that rare at this time of year so read on...

So why do cats get themselves into these often fatal situations? There are plenty of stories of stowaway cats less fortunate than this week’s lucky feline so why does it happen?

The answer is hardly surprising as any cat owner will know, cats like warmth. And if they’re not fortunate enough to have a warm spot in a house then they will find a spot somewhere else. Car engine bays are a good choice as they are often warm after being used as well as being dark and secure - a great place for a nap if you’re a cat. Cats will often find their way into engine bays or snuggled up on top of one of the wheels. Unfortunately for every story found on Google of a cat surviving a trip stuck in an engine bay there are many more unreported instances of Fluffy being less fortunate.

So how do you avoid horribly killing a sheltering cat, or if you’re less bothered about animal welfare, how do you avoid an unpleasant clean up job? If you can’t stop cats getting into these situations then the answer is to bang loudly on the car bonnet and/or blast the horn before you start the car. This gives a sleeping cat a wakeup call it’s unlikely to ignore. Admittedly this may also wake the neighbours if you’re an early starter but, hey, they’ll get over it.

And if you don’t want your own cat sleeping rough in an engine bay then make sure they can come inside to a warm bed.

Okay, so can a Chevy Camaro really get from Auckland to New Plymouth on one tank of gas?