Driving through Tampa Saturday, I was trucking along doing about 50 down Fowler Ave at around 6:30pm. Fowler is a pretty major 6-8 lane road in a busy section of Tampa. University traffic, the works.
Anyway, I’m about 2 blocks from my destination when I see a squirrel dart across the road. No big deal, hope it doesn’t get itself killed.
Only, shit, that’s not a squirrel, that’s a grey kitten.
As it lands in the median, I quickly pull over into the turn lane, hoping to grab her before she gets frantic and tries to cross the road again. Just as I turn my hazards on and pull the e-brake in the turn lane, I open the door, and traffic starts rushing around me again. She meows at me once, panics, and runs underneath my car.
:eek:
I am now crawling on hands and knees around my car, looking for where she went, hoping she didn’t cross out the other side into 4 lanes of traffic. I hear her squeak a couple times, but no sight. This continues for 10 minutes. I eventually see her try to step down from inside the wheel well, and I rush over to grab her. No luck, as traffic starts again and she runs somewhere new under the car.
I’m searching, searching,…can’t figure out where the hell she went. She’s not making any noise anymore. Somebody parked at the opposite stoplight starts honking frantically…“It went under the car! Look under the hood!”
The car is still running, and I hope to god she isn’t caught and chopped into pieces by the engine parts.
I pop the hood and see her, buried, deep inside the hot sizzling parts of the car, mouth and eyes open, not moving. I’m figuring that she’s dead, somehow, but I turn the car off and start going in arms deep in the burning-hot car.
A lady pulls next to me in her burgundy Jaguar. “Do you need a phone to call a tow truck, honey?”
“No it’s fine, it’s just a kitten inside the engine…”
" :eek: " …and she drives off.
I’m holding her by the shoulders, trying to wrench her out of the car without breaking her in half and wondering if she’s already been hit or is already broken in half and she’s just in too much shock to yell anymore.
Finally, she’s freed. I hold her close to me and she just pants, half her whiskers are curled from the heat of the engine, she is physically exhausted and just collapses against me.
A day later, much food and water, a bath in the sink, ten thousand fleas removed with the comb, and our little miracle kitty is doing just fine.
So, any names?
Sorry about the lack of pictures with her eyes open, she sleeps a lot. As you can imagine, she’s had a rough few days. Once I catch her awake and feeling photogenic, I will upload more of her beautiful grey/blue eyes.
One Two
Three Four!
Poor thing, but she really is a lucky baby.
