Grateful that it was finally Friday, I shut down my laptop, packed up my purse/briefcase, and high-tailed it out of my office at about 5:15 p.m. I went downstairs to the parking garage to retrieve my car. [Side note: The parking garage for my building is valet-only. This means that you never park your own car in the morning or retrieve your own car in the afternoon.] I gave the lady at the garage window my ticket, and she sent one of the guys to grab my car. Because Blake's mother was in town, I had been driving Blake's car rather than my own. His car was pulled to the exit for me, and I hopped in. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
Within a minute of pulling out of the garage, I heard a strange noise. I turned off the radio and listened closely, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. The noise quieted down and I resumed driving. Another minute passed and I heard it again. At this point, I admitted to myself that the noise sounded like a cat's meow. Certainly that was not the case, so I blew it off and kept driving. I heard it a few more times and was able to convince myself that perhaps there was something mechanically wrong with the car and the noise it was making merely sounded like a cat's meow. I almost called Blake to report the situation, but again- I thought I was being crazy and paranoid, so I continued to ignore it.
I had broken a nail that morning, so I stopped at my nail salon to get it fixed. This means that I drove all the way from downtown Fort Worth to the intersection of Hulen and Bellaire (where the salon is located), a route which is at least 50% highway driving. I parked, went in to get my nail fixed and was back in the car after about 20 minutes total. Almost as soon as I started the car, I heard the meowing again. My stomach sank. I knew that the sound I was hearing was the sound of a kitten meowing. I just knew it.
I had to pick up Blake from work anyway (again- Blake didn't have a car since his mom was in town), so I called him to give him the news. It went something like this, "Blake- I'm pretty sure there is a cat stuck somewhere in or on this car. I keep hearing it meowing. Either it's a cat or the car is making a noise that sounds EXACTLY like a cat." I knew that Blake would think I was crazy (a point which he later confirmed).
I arrived at Ajax a few minutes later. I turned off the car and opened the car door. At that point, I heard the meowing and it was even louder. The car was off and the noise persisted... so the mechanical malfunction theory flew out the window at that moment. It was definitely a cat (or at least an animal) that was in or on the car.
When Blake did not immediately come outside to meet me, I honked. I instantly regretted the honk, for fear that it would deafen or scare the stowaway creature to death (literally), but I was antsy for Blake to come outside and try to hear what I was hearing. It didn't take long. Blake walked up to the car and almost immediately heard the meowing. He scampered backwards like the wussy-scaredy-cat that he is (no pun intended) and his eyes were big as saucers. (Sorry Blake, but it's true!!).
Blake very reluctantly pulled out a flashlight to start searching the car. He then very, VERY reluctantly popped the hood. We looked and we looked, and even though we intermittently heard the meowing, we could not find a dang cat. Blake called Goodyear Tire to tell them about our predicament. They suggested that we swing on by so that they could put the car on a lift and take a good look.
We drove (as slowly and smoothly as we could within the limits of the traffic laws) to Goodyear. When we arrived, the mechanics asked whether the noise was coming from the front or back of the car. Blake and I both agreed that we thought it was coming from the back. They put the car on a lift, grabbed some flashlights and spotted "Lucky," as we now affectionately call him, within a minute. He was a tiny grey kitten hitching a ride behind the bumper. He was tucked into the undercarriage of the car, sitting on top of some piping. The craziest part is that he wasn't even stuck. He could have jumped, fallen or been sucked out at any time. The mechanics very carefully pulled Lucky out by his tail. He was petrified. He hissed and thrashed and squacked. (See video below). Nonetheless, he was freaking adorable!
Chapter 2: What The Hell to Do With a Tiny, Stray, Stowaway Kitten
The mechanics put Lucky into a box, all the while gawking and laughing. Apparently, mechanics occasionally pull out a mangled rat or cat from the hood of a car, but these guys had never seen a situation like Lucky's. Blake and I thanked the friendly mechanics and drove away, box-o-Lucky in tow. We both immediately began making phone calls and desperate Facebook pleas in an attempt to find Lucky a temporary or permanent home. Blake's allergies combined with the fact that I was not keen on the idea of bringing a petrified, traumitized feral kitten home to meet my 6-month-old fueled our desperation to find a place for Lucky. We tried the vet and the humane society but both were already closed for the day. We called the 24 hour emergency vet, but apparently they don't take strays. Period. (Trust me, I even begged). We called a few friends, looking for suggestions, but we weren't having any luck.
Unwilling to desert Lucky after all he had been through, we reluctantly took him home. Blake transferred him into one of Gaudi's old kennels, and we put a towel, bowl of water and wet dog food inside with him (which Lucky promptly stepped in and spilled everywhere in a desperate attempt to get as far away from us as possible). We kept him in the garage. The house was not an option (see prior comments regarding allergies and baby safety). I continued my desperate Google searching to try to find somewhere safe for Lucky to go.
FINALLY, Lucky's guardian angel saw my Facebook post and gave me a buzz. My friend, Jen Siegel, called when she saw the adorable picture of Lucky that I had posted on Facebook. She couldn't take him herself because she was at her Grapevine lakehouse, but she informed me that her cousin works for a no-kill shelter in Fort Worth. She also informed me that the humane society has an automatic euthanization policy for stray kittens, which was news to me. Neither Blake nor I wanted to kill Lucky. He deserved a chance after all he had been through. Jen called her cousin and her cousin called in a favor for us. Even though Buddy's Place (an amazing no-kill cat sanctuary in Fort Worth) was technically full, strings were pulled and they agreed to take Lucky.
As required by the shelter, we took Lucky to the vet who works with the shelter the next morning. They had to look him over before the shelter takes him to make sure he didn't have feline leukemia or any other diseases that would prevent the shelter from taking him. We said our goodbyes to little Lucky.
Blake called a couple of days later to see whether Lucky had been given a clean bill of health. Indeed, he had already been cleared and picked up by someone from Buddy's Place. We had to pay a $100 fee for Lucky's vet check in order for the shelter to agree to take him, but it was worth it. Blake and I are both softies and we wanted to ensure a long life for Mr. Lucky. He is now living a pampered life at the Buddy's Place sanctuary for cats, where they will attempt to domesticate him and adopt him out. If they are not successful, he'll live there for the remainder of his life.
In retrospect, the entire scenerio is even more bizarre than it seemed at the time. Lucky first made himself known as I drove away from my parking garage at work. The parking garage is smack-dab in the middle of downtown Fort Worth and I would have been parked on an upper level. It is extremely unlikely that Lucky's journey began at the parking garage. This means that he had to have already been on/in/under the car when I drove to work in the morning. I don't now where he came from or when he hopped under the car, but at a minimum, he spent 10 hours under there (including jaunts down I30 East and West). Craziness.
The moral(s) of this story:
1) If you think your car is meowing, you may in fact have a cat tucked in the underbelly or hood of your car.
2) Don't ever assume you are doing a stray animal a favor by taking it to the humane society. They are always over-crowded and many animals are euthanized immediately (before they are given a chance at being adopted).
3) Buddy's Place (www.thoughts4paws.com) is freaking awesome.
4) The mechanics at Goodyear on Camp Bowie are quite helpful and friendly. They did not charge us for their "services," and refused to accept a tip from Blake.
For your viewing pleasure, some videos/pics from our adventure:
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