A normal morning drive to work turned into a kitten rescue mission for a Red Deer garage owner.
Jeff Roberts, owner of Wrenchmasters AutoPro in Red Deer, said he heard meowing while standing by his truck Wednesday night.
“I thought it sounded like a kitten … but I didn’t really think about it. I just figured there must have been a kitten running around here somewhere,” he said.
After making the 15-minute drive to work Thursday morning, he got out of his vehicle and heard the meowing again.
“I got a mirror and a flashlight out, got under the truck and way up on top of the fuel tank, buried underneath the truck, I could see there was a baby kitten. The eyes weren’t even open on it so I knew it was fresh,” he said.
Just pulled this little fella (alive) from on top of a fuel tank under my truck. Taking to the SPCA now. Glad we found him. He’s gonna be OK. - Jeff pic.twitter.com/VeZ7xEP3HA
— WrenchmastersAutopro (@Wrenchmasters) May 24, 2018
Roberts then brought his truck into the shop, put it in hoists and got the kitten out.
The employees at the garage were shocked, he said.
“Everyone was scrambling for a towel or trying to figure out what to do and I’ve been a farm boy for life, so I kind of knew what we needed to do.
“The kitten couldn’t have been there more than two days because I’ve stumbled across kittens on the acreage when strays have them. After a few days they dehydrate and unfortunately there’s no saving them,” said Roberts.
Roberts said he thinks the kitten will be OK.
“He still had a lot of energy. We got some water in him and drove him down to the SPCA,” said Roberts. “I think he’s a got a real good chance of surviving this. The cat’s going to be an adult with a story.”
Roberts said he’d thought he had seen it all after working with vehicles for years.
“I have never in my life seen something like this before,” he said. “I’ve been doing this an awful long time and this is the first time I’ve ever encountered a live animal … underneath a vehicle like that.”
Drivers shouldn’t worry too much about something like this happening to them, he added.
“This is kind of a freak thing,” Roberts said. “I suspect the cat either jumped up on there and gave birth and the kitten fell into the tight spot or the mother … put it up there for safety.”
“Once that kitten fell down into the crevice, there was no way the mother could’ve got that kitten out,” he said.
After cats have their litter, they like to get the kittens off the ground out of harm’s way, said Roberts.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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