Kitten survives 30-mile drive in engine compartment of car

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Animal rescuers in Britain said a kitten survived a 30-mile journey under the hood of a car, and now has a new home with the vehicle's owner.

The RSPCA said Rosalind O'Brien had spotted a kitten on her property the day before she drove the 30 miles from Cheshire, England, to Winsford to visit her mother.

O'Brien arrived at her mother's home and heard the kitten meowing from the engine compartment of her Toyota Yaris.

"It's about a 30-mile journey and I was doing about 65 mph for part of it so he was so lucky he didn't get burned or anything," O'Brien said.

The woman said the kitten hid itself deep inside the inner workings of the vehicle when she attempted to rescue him, and she ended up calling the RSPCA for help.

Inspector Caren Goodman-James responded to the scene.

"It wasn't an easy rescue," Goodman-James said. "It was quite tricky getting the kitten out. I had to lie on the ground getting quite wet and dirty as I moved engine parts around until we could free him. Then I took him to RSPCA Stapeley Grange Cattery to be cleaned up and cared for."

O'Brien said the kitten will return soon to her vehicle -- but this time in the passenger compartment on the way to her home.

"I think fate wanted me to have him -- or at least he did," O'Brien said.

She said she has named the kitten "Yaris" after the vehicle in which he was found.