Kitten’s ‘Hell Ride’ Ends In Rescue By Scotch Plains Mechanic

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ — A 2-month old kitten went on a “hell ride” while trapped underneath a car for more than 40 miles before being rescued by a Scotch Plains mechanic.

On Thursday, a driver of a Dodge Challenger stopped into Paul’s Garage, part of Lukoil gas station on North Avenue in Scotch Plains, and “frantically” approached the head mechanic Kyle Fitzgerald and asked if he wanted to do a “good deed today?”

The driver told Fitzgerald that he had driven from New Brunswick to Newark when he got out of his car and heard meowing. The driver thought the cat was hidden somewhere in the area and didn’t think much of it.

He got back into his car and drove to the Dunkin Donuts in Scotch Plains when he heard the meowing again. The driver knew there must be a cat stuck in the car. He drove to Paul’s Garage and asked for help.

Ftizgerald, born and raised in Scotch Plains, said he is a big cat person. He has always had cats in his life and currently has two now. So when he heard about the trapped cat he immediately went into action.

“When I went to the car I could hear the cat screaming and meowing,” Fitzgerald said.

The meowing was thought to be coming from somewhere between the middle to the front driver’s side of the car.

Fitzgerald and his coworker Mike jacked up the car and took the wheel off and half the wheel well apart before they finally got eyes on the kitten.

“It’s foot was stuck in between two pieces of plastic,” Fitzgerald said. “It took about 40 minutes of removing parts and trying to coax the cat to come in my direction.”

Eventually, Fitzgerald put on a pair of gloves in case the kitten was feral and reached out to the kitten and started petting him. It didn’t seem scared so Fitzgerald took off the gloves and grabbed the kitten by the tuft of its neck and was finally able to get it out.

“It was terrified,” Fitzgerald said when he got the kitten out. “The guy said he was on the highway for the majority of the day. The cat went for a hellride.”

The kitten is about two months old and a female. Fitzgerald named her “Hellcat,” after the Dodge Challenger’s new model and her crazy ride.

“Ever since she’s been attached to me,” Fitzgerald said. “At my house, she slept next to me all last night.”

Fitzgerald is going to keep the kitten and take her to vet.

Even though she will be living in Fitzgerald’s home, he noted she is “pretty much the shop's mascot.”

(Images provided)

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.