A Middlesbrough feline described as a “big scaredy cat” used one of his nine lives after a near accident left him trapped inside a car.
Four-year-old Charlie from Hemlington was rescued by a fire crew after a concerned member of the public reported noticing a cat rolling out from under a passing car on Stainton Way.
Workers from White Cross Vets in Coulby Newham attended the scene, only to watch the distressed cat climb underneath their car to hide, ending up inside their engine.
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Practice support manager of the vet centre Sarah Etherington said: “Our registered veterinary nurse, Lisa Williams and I drove there as quickly as possible.
“As we pulled up, we could see the cat, but as approached him, he ran underneath our car to hide. He was obviously in shock and quickly climbed up into the engine!”
Charlie, who was feared to be injured by the alleged accident, was now trapped as members of the public attempted to lure him out.
Sarah added: “With the help of lots of lovely members of the community we all did our best to coax him out, but after 30 minutes we were getting nowhere and had to call the fire service.
“They were amazing and lifted my car onto stilts and removed a section of it, which enabled them to get underneath and safely remove Charlie from the engine bay. Charlie is a big boy; he weighs 6.5 kilos, so it was no mean feat!”
Following his rescue, Charlie was taken to The Parkway Centre where he was identified by his microchip and found to have no injuries from his unexpected car adventure.
Charlie’s owner, Cheryl, now says he is “grounded”, thanking Sarah, Lisa and members of the public for saving her much loved pet.
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She said: “Charlie isn’t really a people person, despite being the size of a small panther, he’s a big scaredy cat really!
“He often hides in the morning when he comes back from his nights out. I think he has started crawling into the engine bays of cars and that is what must have happened.”
She added: “I am so grateful to everyone who helped Charlie and I went to the fire station and White Cross Vets with chocolates, as they all went out of their way to help him.
“I’m not sure how we are going to stop Charlie from climbing into car engines, so he is grounded for now!”
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