Beware of Animals Under Your Hood in Cold Weather!

The cold weather is on its way, yuck!  And for those of you with cars out there, you should be careful.  Animals (usually cats) often find the warmth of car engines inviting in the brisk cold and will set up shop under your hood.  A good precaution to take is to tap on the hood of your car in the morning before you get in and start your engine.  This might scare the animal away. 

The cold started early this fall and some animals have already begun to seek shelter.  Take a look at this story of a cat getting stuck in a New Yorkers car engine reported by the Daily News and the Gothamist.com. 

"An orange and white cat had be to extracted by Emergency Service Unit detectives when a SUV driver discovered the feline in the vehicle's front hood.

According to the Daily News, the cat had been in Wilfredo Rodriguez's Nissan Murano for a 2-mile trip between a Bronx building on Marcy Place to a Department of Buildings office on Arthur Avenue: "Rodriguez said that after he parked the car he continued to hear a rattling sound he had noticed during the trip. He investigated and quickly spotted the tabby's bushy tail and front right paw sticking out of the SUV's front end." The building super worried, "I said, 'Oh my God! I killed a cat,'" but was happy when the cat's paw moved.

He called 911, and Detectives Jeffrey King and Kris Cataldo arrived on the scene. They "freed the feline by removing the car's battery and several other parts." Animal Care & Control says the cat seems to be doing fine." 

By Jen Chung in News on October 20, 2009 9:32 AM/ Photo Courtesy of Daily News