Lancashire cat who hitched a ride in TWO car engines

Harry went missing on March 27 from his home in Great Harwood. While his owner, Tracey Wilson and her 17-year-old daughter, Leona, were out looking for him, RSPCA Inspector Natalie Taylor was called to a property four miles away in Whalley by a motorist who found a ginger cat stuck inside their car engine.

Inspector Taylor said: “The car had been sat on their drive for a week and the owners said they became concerned when they heard crying from inside.

“When I arrived I found the cat wedged inside the engine. He was trying to push himself out of a very small gap in the wheel arch but was stuck fast.

“I managed to scan him for a microchip and contact his owners who rushed straight down to us to help me free the frightened puss.”

Harry, a 10-year-old rescue cat, usually lives indoors and his owners were very worried when he disappeared.

His owner, Tracey, said: “We got Harry in December 2015. He’d been found living stray in the KFC car park in Accrington and I took him on. He has always been a house cat and very rarely wants to go out.

“Harry was found in Mitton Road, Whalley, which is more than four miles from our home. I drive along this road every day on my way to work. I believe he’d been hiding in my car engine and then fell out while I was sat in traffic on Mitton Road that day.”

Inspector Taylor believes the frightened puss then made a dash for the nearest driveway and clambered inside another car engine where he felt safe - before getting stuck.

She added: “Harry obviously has a taste for car engines having buried himself in two in one day! He was lucky we were able to free him and he wasn’t seriously hurt. While he had injured a toe and needed some veterinary treatment, I’m pleased he’s now back home where he belongs and is doing well.”

Tracey added: “I am so grateful to the RSPCA’s for their help rescuing him and to the couple who owned the car.

“Harry is improving every day, the swelling has gone down in both feet and he is managing to climb on to the window sill and chairs in the house like he used to do. It looks like he will always have a wonky toe though!”