A cat survived an agonising eight-hour ordeal trapped inside a car engine, and the vehicle's heat may have saved her life. Nala, a blue-coloured tortoiseshell, suffered a horrific injury after becoming wedged inside the pulley system of a red Peugeot in Walsall, West Midlands.
Discovery and Rescue Attempts
The ordeal was only discovered when the driver noticed warning symbols appearing on the dashboard and smoke coming from the engine while travelling at about 8am on August 16. The distraught cat was then discovered trapped beneath the engine with one of her legs caught inside the machinery. The driver cut the timing belt in a bid to release Nala, but the cat was stuck fast.
West Midlands Fire Service was called and crews attempted to free her, but when their attempt failed, the RSPCA was called to help. When rescuers eventually reached Nala, bone was exposed from a serious injury to her right front leg, but remarkably, the heat generated by the vehicle may have stopped her from bleeding to death.
Vet Intervention and Recovery
RSPCA animal rescue officer Cara Gibbon said: “Nala had sustained serious injury to her right forelimb and bone was exposed. Thankfully, the heat from the vehicle may have saved her life by cauterising the injury ensuring she did not bleed to death.”
The rescue operation lasting more than eight hours was launched to free the stricken cat. Rescuers feared Nala's injuries were so severe that a vet may have to put her to sleep while she was still trapped inside the vehicle. Gibbon said: “When we attended, we could see the true damage of what had happened and feared the only way we could help Nala would be to ask a vet to attend and put her to sleep in situ.”
Ongoing Care
Part of the Peugeot's wheel arch eventually had to be removed before rescuers were able to get Nala out and rush her for treatment. Her badly damaged limb has since been removed and she is now recovering, although rescuers have warned she remains seriously unwell. Gibbon said: “The injury on her chest is quite deep but she is a fighter and we are willing her to pull through.” The RSPCA does not know who owns Nala or whether she was a stray when she became trapped in the vehicle.
