Police in Guelph had to use the contents of their lunch bags to lure a fugitive feline to safety after a man discovered it had crawled into the engine compartment of his car.

Police were called to Malcolm Road in the Woodlawn Road West and Elmira Road North area of the city's west end at the height of Thursday morning's rush hour.

"It was a worker. He was on the night shift and when he came out to go home, he sees the cat go up and run underneath and he couldn't get it out," Guelph Police spokesman Cst Michael Gatto said.

"Then he was like, 'Okay, well, who the heck do I call? I wanna go home. I've been up all night,' and the Humane Society wasn't open 'til nine."

So the man called police.

Two officers with the Guelph Police Service at work, trying to rescue a kitten that had taken up residence under the hood of a man's car. (Guelph Police Service)

A pair of officers arrived and when they couldn't get the cat out either, one of the officers opened up his lunch bag to lure the hungry kitten out of his hiding place.

Once the kitten was close enough, one of the officers reached in and managed to grab it.

Gatto said it's a good thing the officers were there, since the kitten could've easily been hurt or killed.

"There's lots of little hiding spots up there," Gatto said. "If you're driving it could fall out, for one. Or it could get caught in the belts. It could get burned by the heat of the engine. It's certainly lucky that this person saw the cat."

Gatto said the kitten is a stray and was turned over to the Humane Society, which will likely put it up for adoption.