UAE: Check car hood for stray cats hiding during winter
It’s normal to see feral cats hiding under cars parked up, especially in winter. The cat might then get inside some part of the car, a risk for the cat and for the driver, who could be injured or lose his sense of direction and crash if the cat suddenly turns up in the car.
Fatima Hussein, 36, an Emirati woman living in Sharjah, got out of her house in the afternoon, went to her car and started the engine. She drove for five minutes, and then she heard an intermittent meowing noise, which seemed to be coming from the car.
She drove to the closest gas station and asked a clerk to check the car. A kitten got trapped in it. The worker tried for a while but could finally lift the cat out of the car.
For all kinds of reasons, cats crawl under or inside cars. Hayfa Ali Rashid, acting director environmental safety at Department of Umm Al Quwain Municipality, said. "Cats will take to cars in winter when the weather gets bad, from rain to cold.
Risks to cats and drivers
‘There are a number of dangers with cats under cars,’ she continued: ‘The engine heat after starting the car can injure or kill the cat, because moving things such as the fan can injure them quite severely.
The same is dangerous to the driver. ‘If you have cats in the car, it will short out wires or engine parts and cause mechanical issues. When a cat sits in the car while the driver is behind the wheel, it can jump into the car and distract the driver, causing them to run over people".
"A cat dying inside the engine from the heat or moving parts would be bad odours and bad for the driver’s health," Hayfa continued.
Cats go in the engine compartment or underneath the car. They might even be located in or around the wheels and inner tubes or side openings where they shelter and warm up.
'Tap and wait'
‘Look under your car, and see if there are any cats,’ warned Hayfa, who advised drivers to make sure that their car wasn’t filled with cats.
"They should also clap, tap on the car, to send cats away. "Go ahead and get the engine started and wait a minute, then go," she said. ‘The sound can wake the cat, so he or she will escape on its own.
Hayfa added that there are even cats who are killed when the car is first started: "A cat in the engine can be crushed or suffocated if it’s too close to the engine, and die.
You run the danger of burning with the engine’s high heat.
‘Starting the engine without notice might wake up the cat, which will startle and run around in a strange manner. This may lead to the cat slipping or colliding with machinery parts," she continued.
If you have a cat that won’t come out of the car, try these solutions:
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Tap gently on the car, hood or body especially, to get the cat to move.
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-Flatten the engine (without driving), to make it feel threatened and let it go.
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Place foul-smelling food (tuna, for example) outside the car so that the cat gets out safely.
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Remove the cat with the help of a grabber or gloves if it is near harm’s way.
Experts went on to say: "If you can’t control the injured cat, get in contact with veterinary clinics for help right away.
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