- A kitten was trapped behind the grille during a heat advisory.
- A shelter officer could not reach her from under the car.
- Two tow operators dismantled the front end to free her.
Not everyone loves animals, but most folks spring into action when they believe they can help one that’s struggling. What happens, though, when you have the desire to help but no idea how to do so? That’s what one woman recently dealt with at, of all places, a coffee shop. While sitting in a drive-thru window, she heard a kitten in distress. Little did she know at the time that the ordeal would end with her Honda’s front clip disassembled. All worth it to her, though, as this story has a very happy ending.
The unusual rescue happened at a Scooter’s Coffee location in Ames, Iowa, during a heat advisory. Kepler had placed her order when she heard the kitten crying from inside the car. She quickly realized the tiny animal had somehow become stuck behind the grille, where the heat, confined space, and panic were taking their toll.
Read: Russian Driver Gives Kitten Stranded On The Highway Another Chance In Life
The Ames Animal Shelter was called, but animal services officer Kathy Pike could not reach the kitten from underneath the Honda. That led to a call for Central Iowa Towing and Recovery. “Everybody was like, ‘We’re going to do what we can for this animal, and we’re all going to work together and get it done,’” Pike said to The Washington Post.
Cole Denning and Jordan McKnight arrived with the sort of equipment and know-how most coffee-shop customers do not have lying around. After raising the Honda and getting a better look at the situation, they determined the front end needed to come apart. “We both came to the conclusion that the only possible way to get her out was to disassemble the whole front clip of the car,” McKnight said. According to the shelter’s Facebook post, the kitten was panting heavily and clearly in distress. The two tow operators carefully removed panels around the hood and headlights until they could create enough space to reach inside and extract her.
It took roughly 15 minutes, and the Honda was later put back together and sent on its way. The kitten was taken for care and named Fika, after the Swedish word for a purposeful coffee or tea break. It is hard to think of a more fitting name. A normal stop for caffeine turned into a community rescue, a partial Honda teardown, and one very lucky kitten finding a home. Once she’s spayed, she’s going home with McKnight.
