Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

ANIMALS

‘Miracle kitten’ survives 200km trip in car engine

A kitten has been dubbed the ‘miracle moggy’ and renamed ‘motor oil’ by her adopted owner after defying the odds by surviving a 200km trip across northern France wedged in the purring engine of a car.

Published: 28 June 2013 15:48 CEST
‘Miracle kitten’ survives 200km trip in car engine
A kitten in France survived 200km stuck in a car engine. File photo: Nicolas Suzor

If cats have nine lives then one little kitty in northern France must have used them all up in one go.

The 'miracle kitten' as the the moggy is now being referred to, somehow managed to cling on for dear life inside the engine of a car as it sped 200km from Rennes in Brittany to Caen in Normandy.

“When I got into the car at the farm where I work I heard a cat meowing just as I started the car,” Eugenie Gallais told French radio RTL on Friday.

“I got out of the car and checked under the wheels but did not see anything so I left and drove 200km to my home in Calvados. When I got out of the car there was a little kitten by the wheels.

At first Eugenie thought nothing of it but then on closer inspection realized something was a little fishy.

“It was really dirty, covered in oil but it looked healthy. I thought it looked a little like the kittens from the farm so I called my manager who confirmed that one of them was missing.

“It had to be the one I found by the car.”

Not wanting to be separated from the kitten, Eugenie decided to adopt it and rename it “motor oil”.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Published: 14 February 2024 13:01 CET
Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

SHOW COMMENTS