The car owner heard a faint meowing sound near the bonnet of his car. (symbolic picture)
Mumbai:
A Mumbai man was stunned when he saw a cat and her four newborn babies inside the engine cavity of his car after using the vehicle for the whole day.
An animal rescuer who pulled the cat and her one-day-old baby out of the car said there were no injuries to either of the cute animals.
Animal rescuer Rajesh Mahadik said Chembur resident Aniket Bhondve heard a faint meowing sound near the bonnet of his car on Monday morning, but he thought that the faint sound was coming from outside.
After driving his car between Panvel and Chembur on the outskirts of Mumbai, Bhondve returned home in the evening, and once again encountered the soft meow he had encountered earlier.
Mahadik said, he opened the bonnet of the car and was shocked to find an adult cat and four kittens inside the engine compartment.
Mahadik, a volunteer with animal welfare NGO Rescink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW), said Bhondwe sought his help out of fear that the adult cat might attack him if he attempted to save him.
The mother and little Mogi were later pulled out of the vehicle safely by Mahadik and another rescue worker, Siddhant Dhanawade.
According to Mahadik, the cat probably gave birth inside the engine cavity.
After intervention the mother ran away from the spot. He said, “Probably because he had not eaten anything all day.”
Rescuers were now faced with the challenge of reuniting the kittens with their mother. They placed the babies in a basket and placed them in an open area near the car. A camera trap was also installed to monitor the movement of the mother cat.
The kitten returned at noon the next day, taking her two newborn kittens with her. She returned in the evening and left with the other two kittens, Mahadik said.
Pawan Sharma, founder and president of RAW, said that due to urbanization and construction, animals like cats do not get enough natural spaces.
During winter, they find places in cars where they can get warmth due to the engine. He said, “Something similar might have happened in this case also.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
