Kitten Rescued From Inside Van Engine By Animal Control Officers

ARLINGTON, VA — Caroline Elpers, a deputy animal control officer with Arlington County, responded to a call from a woman on Aug. 15. The woman said she was walking her dog and she'd heard the mewing of a cat coming from the inside of a van parked on the street.

"Initially, the call stated that the cat was in the van," Elpers said, who arrived on the scene around 10 a.m. "Once I got there, it was apparent that the cat was underneath the van, running under and into the engine."

Deputy Animal Control Officer Ryan Robinson, who also responded to the scene, said the department typically receives a number of calls throughout the year about animals trapped inside car engines.

"More often, we see it in the wintertime, because animals are trying to stay warm," he said. "A warm engine, they can feel that from a distance. They'll go and hide in there. Kittens we get pretty often, especially in the wintertime."

Elpers and Robinson could see the kitten far back underneath the dashboard of the van, but they couldn't reach her.

"We played a combination of kitten distress noises," Elpers said. "That usually alerts them and they'll call back, so we knew where she was,"

The officers then placed some wet food on the engine. This lured the kitten out from her hiding spot and the officers were able to grab her.

"We named her 'Chassi' because she was running up and down the chassis of the van," Elpers said.

Returning to the Arlington County Animal Shelter, the officers handed Chassi over to the animal care technicians.

"They do the intake examine," Elpers said. "Make sure there's no major wounds. Start vaccinations, if the kitten's old enough. Chassi was pretty dirty from being in the engine, so she did receive a bath."

Chassi was placed with one of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington's fosters, who will take care of her until she's old enough to be fully vaccinated, spayed and adopted.

The best way for Arlington residents to ensure a cat isn't hiding in their vehicle, according to Robinson, is to be vigilant, especially during the winter.

"If they're kittens, they're going to be mewing," he said. "They're going to be calling out. That's one way to keep a look out. If they are kittens, their mother is going to be tending to them. So, she'll being going out of the engine, foraging for food. If you see an adult cat running out of your driveway or your car being more active than normal, that's a good indicator as well."