MONCTON – A Moncton veterinarian says a stray kitten is lucky to be alive after getting caught in a vehicle’s engine last Friday morning.
The rescuing began when a neighbour called Wayne Leger to tell him a cat had been caught in Leger’s car engine.
Leger had just returned home from his night shift at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont Hospital.
“We took off the cap and you could see the body here and his head was there and so his paw was stuck in the belt,” he said.
He said they immediately tried to remove the kitten, but had to call emergency services. Several Moncton firefighters responded.
Robert Cormier was one of them.
Cormier said he has a knowledge of engines and started to take the vehicle’s engine apart around the little kitten.
“I had to cut the belt because I didn’t want to cause any damage and there was one other pulley his front paw or leg was jammed in,” he said.
He said it took about 30 minutes to free the kitten from the vehicle. They then rushed the kitten to the Oaks Veterinary Medical and Emergency Referral Centre.
Dr. Chantal Houle was on duty when they arrived.
“He was frozen, almost frozen solid,” Dr. Houle said. “We couldn’t actually hear a heart beat because his heart beat was so weak.”
They immediately warmed him up and treated his injuries.
“His left front leg was entirely mangled and there was not a lot of skin left on it,” she said.
The kitten’s leg and tail had to be amputated to save his life.
Dr. Houle says staff provided their expertise for free, but they need money to pay for his medical bills. They are raising money to cover the cost for treating him.
Soon Robert, who was named after the firefighter who freed him from the vehicle, will go up for adoption.
Leger says he would like to be the one who takes him home.
“After you see the pain they go through you want to do something so we want to give him a loving home,” he said.
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