When Astra and his four siblings were barely 8 weeks born, they were dumped in a box on the side of the road. Someone discovered them and was transporting the box to a neighboring RSPCA branch when Astra became agitated and leaped out of the box.
The confused and terrified little kitten ran straight under a parked car and refused to come out. When staff from the shelter came out to try and help, Astra had climbed into the car’s engine, and was completely unreachable.
In a news release, Jo Maddock, manager of the RSPCA’s Nottingham office, said, “We attempted to coax him out but had no luck, so we summoned an RSPCA officer to see if she could help us.”
“It was evident straight away that we needed more help since the kitty had got himself stuck right in there.” We considered jacking the car up, but we were afraid of crushing him because the crevice he managed to squeeze himself into was so small.”
Not wanting to hurt the kitten or to scare him enough to make him run into traffic on the busy road, the shelter staff decided to contact the local fire department to come and help.
The firefighters carefully jacked up the car when they arrived, but soon realized that the only way to get the kitten out would be to remove one of the car’s wheels.
“Fortunately, this worked, and he was discharged safely,” Maddock added. “The incident left him a bit shaken — and extremely dusty — but he was well otherwise, and we were able to rejoin him with his littermates.”
Following the rescue, the shelter called the small kitten Astra after the automobile he’d been hiding in, as well as his other siblings Victor, Nova, Adam, and Viva.
“We’d want to thank the fire department and the lady whose car Astra sought refuge in,” Maddock added. “It serves as a reminder of why we do what we do – there is never a dull moment in our work!” We were desperate to get Astra out safely, and now he can look forward to a wonderful new home when he’s ready.”
