Male tabby was spotted by family in Clacton-on-Sea and could have been stuck for days

A cat is thought to have travelled up to 80 miles while wedged in the air vent of a family car.



The male tabby, who was finally spotted when the family arrived in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, having travelled from Stevenage, could have been inside the grille of the Ford Focus for up to two days.

Steven Kane, the owner of the car, said: “We’d pulled up at the seafront and I was playing on the green with my brother’s little girl when I looked up and spotted him. He is lucky that I saw him. I have no idea where we picked up our little hitchhiker, it could have been anywhere.”

Lucy Brennan, an RSPCA inspector, attended the scene and contacted the AA to free the animal.

“The cat was trapped in the grille of the car and the driver was unsure how long he had been there or where he had come from,” she said, revealing the cat had been named Ford by the charity.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ford after he was rescued from the grille of the car. Photograph: RSPCA/PA

“As the family had been driving around quite a lot on their holidays, from Stevenage to Clacton, he wasn’t sure where the cat may have hitched a ride during the last couple of days but the car had driven around 80 miles.

“Luckily, the cat didn’t appear to be injured but he was well and truly trapped. We contacted the AA who came out to carefully dismantle the car by taking out the headlights and bumper and freeing the poor moggy.

“He was very smelly and very hungry ... Luckily the area he was in has no moving parts and doesn’t get hot when the engine is on. Having said that, it must have been quite an ordeal for poor Ford.”

Ford was checked over by staff at the Danaher branch of the RSPCA where an existing problem with his tail was spotted, which will require amputation.

If Ford is not claimed, he will eventually be put up for adoption.

“I think we were all relieved he was rescued and my brother really wants to adopt him now,” said Kane.