A family from Stevenage were surprised to find a cat in the grille of their car when they arrived in Clacton-on-Sea for a holiday.
The tabby cat had a miraculous escape after becoming stuck in the grille of a Ford Focus for up to two days as unaware driver Steven Kane made the 80-mile trip.
Steve and his family realised the cat was there when he parked at the seafront on June 2. He called the animal welfare charity the RSPCA, with inspector Lucy Brennan attending to help.
The male cat, who has now been nicknamed ‘Ford’ by RSPCA staff, could have been stuck there for up to two days.
She said: “The cat was trapped in the grille of the car and the driver was unsure how long he had been there or where he had come from.
“As the family had been driving around quite a lot on their holidays, from Stevenage to Clacton, he wasn’t sure where the cat may have hitched a ride during the last couple of days, but the car had been driven around 80 miles.
“Luckily the cat didn’t appear to be injured, but he was well and truly trapped.
“We contacted the AA who came out to carefully dismantle the car by taking out the headlights and bumper, freeing the poor moggy. He was very smelly and very hungry.
“The AA confirmed that even if the cat had been trapped when the motorist was driving the car, luckily the area he was in has no moving parts and doesn’t get hot when the engine is on.
“Having said that, it must have been quite an ordeal for poor Ford.”
Driver Steven added: “He is lucky that I saw him. I have no idea where we picked up own little hitchhiker, it could have been anywhere.
“I think we were all relived he was rescued and my brother really wants to adopt him now.”
Ford is not microchipped so the Danaher branch of the RSPCA has been unable to reunite him with his owner yet. If no one comes forward for him then he will be rehomed eventually.
Inspector Brennan added: “Microchipping your pet is vitally important in ensuring that if anything happens to them, if they are lost or stolen, or hit by a car, then they can be returned to you.
“Despite our best efforts to find an owner, the most reliable way to identify a cat is to have him or her microchipped.”
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