Did you know that fireman do not rescue kittens out of trees anymore? But if you drive up to their station and ask nicely, they might just help you get one out from the underbelly of your car.
So Saturday afternoon I am driving home from a friend's house. While sitting at a red light I heard a cat meowing. I turn off the audio book I was listening to, to see if it was part of the story. It didn't make sense that it would be. I didn't hear it so I resumed with the story as I traveled home. Wanting to continue with my audio book I stayed in the car cleaning out coupons and trash. That's when I heard it again, meows of a cat. I looked around in my bushes for my outdoor cat, Adidas or his friends who share his cat dish. I saw nothing. It was weird. I wondered if I was hearing things. The next morning while in the kitchen I heard meowing outside. I figured it was Adidas wanting breakfast and went to put food out for him. There was no Adidas or any other cat for that matter. Strange. So off I went to take Peter to catch the bus for football camp, to church, to the store, to my friends at one end of town and back across to the other side of town to visit my parents. About 8:30 PM mom and I were sitting at her dining room table talking. I was telling her about the cat voices and my fear that I was developing some mental disorder. That's when I heard it, the meowing of a cat. I said mom, "Listen, I hear meowing, there must be a cat in my car somewhere." At first she gave me the "really?" look then she too heard it. We headed out to my car and started looking around the tires. I thought I saw a shadow move so mom went for a flashlight. I opened the hood and began shining the light into the engine. A few minutes later I saw it, two eyes in a gray furry face staring up at me. There was a kitten in the underbelly of my car just below the engine.
I was relieved that I was not hearing things , but what was I to do? The poor thing had obviously been in there since at least the afternoon before. I was to have an oil change the next day but I couldn't drive around knowing he was in there. I thought about how I had always heard of firemen rescuing cats from trees and thought maybe they could rescue a kitten from the engine of a car. It was finally decided that mom and I would drive my car to the nearest fire station. My mom cringed with empathy for the little thing every time I turned a corner. Upon reaching the fire station, it was closed up and I could not find anyone to talk to. So there I was in the fire station parking lot dialing 911. When asked where I was, I said , "In my car at the fire station parking lot." After quickly relaying my need the dispatcher contacted the men inside. Shortly one by one, four fire fighters came out to figure out how to get the kitten out. During our conversation, I learned that they do not rescue cats out of trees anymore. None the less, these men crowded around my car engine discussing how to get the little fellow out. I sat on the curb laughing at the scene. One fire fighter had his fire coat on so that he could get in closer to the hot engine. Another went for a jack in case they needed to lift up the car. One retrieved a golf club from a truck in hopes of nudging the little fella out. It was actually that which resulted in the grey fur ball darting out from my car over to a nearby pickup truck where it quickly climbed up into its back tire chassis. Next thing I knew two firemen were working to get him out from there. Soon one produced this itty bitty gray kitten. Discussion during the rescue resulted in one of the men saying he would take the kitten.
I thanked them for their help. One of them smiled and said, "just don't tell anybody." I get that they don't want to be known as the cat rescue squad. But really, could I not tell my story? It was definitely an unusual Sunday evening. Mom and I laughed all the way back to her house and laughed as we relayed the story to my dad and brother. I am so grateful that the little kitten survived it's 24 plus hour imprisonment under my car. I am grateful for the firefighters who so graciously aided us. I am grateful for the firefighter who was going to see that it received a home. And I am REALLY grateful that I am not hearing things that are not there!
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