Woman Getting Into Car Hears Noise, Finds Her New Pet in the Hood

After one young woman heard noises coming from the hood of her car, she couldn't believe what she found when she looked inside it.

In a post shared on TikTok on Thursday, under the username @little.miss.emotional, the poster can be seen getting out of her car after hearing a little kitten meowing from inside the hood, calling for help to get him out of there. "Hey, I'm going to get you out, OK? I don't know how to open the hood, but help is coming, buddy," the woman can be heard saying.

After a while, two people come over to help. They open the hood of the car, locate the small white-and-gray kitten, and manage to safely remove him, handing him over to the poster, who wraps him in a warm towel and takes him home.

A caption reads: "The cat distribution system is getting crazy." It is followed by: "Shoutout to the couple at HOM furniture who helped us."

kitten in car hood
A kitten hides inside a car engine. A woman heard noises coming from her car hood and couldn't believe what she found when she opened it. Getty Images

Stray cats often hide in car hoods to take shelter during cold weather, not knowing that it is actually a very dangerous place for them to be. But, as a car owner, there are a few things you can do to keep cats away from your hood.

PangoVet says that, besides keeping your car clean and using your horn to scare the kitties away, you can try remedies like sprinkling cayenne pepper around your car as a repellent. You can also use sulfur, which keeps them away with its strong, rotten-egg-like smell.

You can also use herbs like lavender and rosemary as a repellent, or cover your car fully to block any potential entrance.

Each year, 6.3 million pets enter U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet 'Shelter Watch Report' found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

The clip has so far received almost 7 million views and more than 1 million likes on the platform.

One user, tipsy, zion & lily, commented: "Why doesn't the cat distribution system pick me?"

Charlotte posted: "Always gotta give the bonnet a few taps and check under the car before driving off, EVERYTIME. these babies hide in engines cos its warm, so glad she's ok."

FNB Dotty added: "That's how we found my cat rocco but unfortunately he lives in NC [North Carolina] with a new family."

Newsweek reached out to @little.miss.emotional for comment via TikTok comments. We could not verify the details of the case.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Maria Azzurra Volpe is a Newsweek Lifestyle Reporter based in London. Her focus is reporting on lifestyle and trends-related stories, ... Read more

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