CUT KNIFE — I travelled 600 kilometres to reach Edmonton in my EV on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. I had stopped in North Battleford, Lashburn, Lloydminster and Vegreville. Thursday morning, I heard a mew, so I asked my friend if she had a kitten or if her neighbours did. She replied no. In the afternoon I took off to Edmonton Center to visit another friend for an hour or two. On my way back north to my hostess, while driving the car, I heard “mew.” Then I realized, one of the kittens from our farm was riding with me.
When I stopped, I looked under the car seats – nothing; looked under the EV hood – nothing. My friend’s husband got a flashlight and could see nothing. So, when I looked, I could see a kitten’s ear, but it was unreachable. We put some tuna and water out for the kitten and went to bed. The next morning, the kitten had eaten the tuna and had a drink, but returned to his safe hiding place. We tried more food. I tried calling it and it answered, but would not come out.
So, I drove towards my friend’s place in Â鶹´«Ã½AV Edmonton but got lost. As I had stopped at a Canadian Tire, I asked the serviceman if there was any chance, they would put the car on the hoist and see if they could reach the kitten. They responded that they could try, but not until 3 p.m. So off I went to my friend’s. I texted her that I was in the daycare parking spot for parents. While I was waiting for her, the daycare caregiver came out to find out where the kitten in distress was. She was looking under various cars but decided it was my car. I told her my story. Soon my friend comes out.
As I had a gift box for her, we decided to take it into her suite so there would be room for her walker. When we get back to the car, there is a fire truck in the lane with four firemen. The daycare worker identified me and my car. She had called the fire department. They had never heard of a kitten in a car motor, much less to find that the kitten had travelled 600 kilometres. They poked and prodded trying to get the kitten out. They tried food to no avail. One fireman assured the children that they would rescue the kitten, so now the pressure was on to succeed.
With the other three firemen one on each side of the car, or under the car they thought for sure they could get it to move. After an hour with no success, I suggested maybe hosing it out, but they didn’t want to damage the car. Just when they were about to give up, one of the firemen caught the kitten and put it in a box. I was afraid it would jump out and showed the fireman how to hold the kitten by the scruff of the neck.
They showed the black kitten with blue eyes to the children. I told the fireman that I didn’t want it. He asked one of the firemen if his sister would want the kitten. I did not hear what the response was. We took pictures of our 90-minute adventure. While they were getting the kitten out, my friend and I had a visit in the car.
The Adventures of Blackie the Kitten
I was born in a barn on my human’s farm. I had three siblings. When we were three weeks old, my mom moved us to the house garage where there was more food. We liked it there because there were a lot of places to hide and chase one another. A week after our move, my human drove her EV car to North Battleford, Lashburn, Lloydminster, Vegreville and finally reached Edmonton at 9:30 p.m. I was so scared but dared not move. The night was pretty cold.
The next morning, I cried for Momma but had no success. My human heard me but thought it was a neighbour’s kitten. Later that day, she went to a friend in the centre of Edmonton. After many stops and starts at lights, she arrived.
On the return to her hostess in the north of Edmonton, I cried out while she was driving. Oh no! she thought. She looked under the car seats, but I wasn’t there. She looked under the EV hood, but couldn’t see me. When her friend got a flashlight, he still couldn’t see her. My human also looked with the flashlight and spotted my ear, but I was not reachable.
I moved to different locations. Finally, they brought me some tuna and water and left me alone. I was so hungry I ate it all up and went back to my safety hideout. The next morning, they put out some more food, but I was too scared of humans. After a while, they gave up and my human took off to visit another friend in south Edmonton.
She stopped at Canadian Tire and asked the serviceman if there was any chance, they could raise the car on the hoist and see if they could reach me. They responded that they could try, but not until 3 p.m. So off she went to her friend’s place parking in the daycare parking spot for parents. While she was waiting for her friend, I began to cry with distress in my voice.
The daycare caregiver came out to find out where the kitten in distress was. She was looking under various cars, but decided it was my human’s car. She told her my story of how I had travelled 600 kilometres and how she tried to get me out. Soon her friend came out.
As she brought a gift box for her, they decided to take it into her suite so there would be room for her walker. When they got back to the car, there was a fire truck in the lane with four firemen.
The daycare worker identified my human and my hiding place in the car. The daycare worker was so concerned for me, she had called the fire Department. They had never heard of a kitten in a car motor, much less to find that I had travelled 600 kilometres.
They poked and prodded, banged the metal trying to get me out. They tried food to no avail. One fireman assured the children that they would rescue me, so now the pressure was on to succeed. With the other three firemen one on each side of the car, or under the car they thought for sure they could get me to move. After an hour with no success, they thought about maybe hosing me, but they didn’t want to damage the car.
Just when they were about to give up, one of the firemen caught me and put me in a box. I was so frightened; I didn’t know what to do. If the fireman hadn’t been holding me by the scruff of my neck, I might have jumped out of the box. They showed me to the children. My human didn’t want another kitten on the farm, so I heard one of the firemen ask if his sister would want me. I did not hear what the response was. They took pictures of our 90-minute adventure. Then I had a ride in the firetruck. But you will have to finish the story. Did I go to the SPCA? Did I go to the fireman’s sister’s place? Did I find a new home? What do you think?
