Cats' 9 lives: Mom, litter survive drive in car hood

MUMBAI: A cat and her four newborns had a miraculous escape as they were spotted and rescued from under a car's hood only after the automobile had travelled all day.

The kittens, said an animal rescuer, were most probably only a day old when they were rescued on Monday. Chembur resident Aniket Bhondve drove to office and said he heard a faint meowing while parking, but assumed it was a stray cat on the street. In the evening, during his ride back home, intermittent purring and meowing was clearly audible. "I looked inside the car, but could not find any cat... When I opened the bonnet, I found a cat inside with four kittens," he said.

Still a mystery how cat got under bonnet, say rescuers

Chembur resident Aniket Bhondve called up an animal welfare NGO, Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW), whose volunteer, Rajesh Mahadik, said the kittens seemed just littered. “We tried to bring the cat and her babies out, but the mother was aggressive,” he said.

Co-rescuer Siddhant Dhanawade, who is adept at handling domestic felines, chipped in. He put on a pair of gloves and tried to bring the mother out. “Naturally, she tried to bite and claw at me, but she calmed down later and I could get her out. Also, the mother must have been hungry as she was holed up inside all day.”

As soon as the cat was brought out, she vanished. The rescuers, worried about the newborn kittens, scooped them out and placed them in a basket and placed a camera trap to keep track of the mother’s return. “She did come back late at night but took only two of the four kittens. Thankfully, she returned later for the other two... She’s moved her babies to some other safe place,” said Mahadik.

It’s still a mystery how she got under the car bonnet. “One possibility is that she found this to be a safe place to litter. Also, when temperature drops, animals tend to slip into vehicles for warmth, especially in urban landscapes,” said Pawan Sharma, president of RAWW. “Whatever the reason, the cat family’s outing and their rescue were heartwarming,” he added