Kitten Survives Trip In Engine Compartment; Saved By Firefighters

WESLEY CHAPEL, FL – It wasn’t a typical call for firefighters with Pasco County Fire Rescue Station 13’s C-Shift.

On the night of Mother’s Day, May 13, they were called to the Cobb CineBistro at Grove 16, 6333 Wesley Grove Blvd., where an anxious mother presented them with an unusual problem.

She’d driven from Tampa to Wesley Chapel to take her children to see “Avengers: Infinity War.” It was after 9 p.m. when the movie let out and the mother was anxious to get her kids home and in bed so they could get up for school the next day.

But she didn’t dare start the car engine. As the family piled into the car for the return trip to Tampa, they heard a distinct mewing sound coming from under the engine hood.

A tiny kitten had crawled into the engine compartment when their car was parked at their home and somehow survived the half-hour drive from Tampa to Wesley Chapel.

The family would never have known the kitten was under the hood if it hadn’t begun to cry, alerting the family to its presence. Unfortunately, it was wedged beneath the car's engine and the family couldn't reach it.

It was definitely a first for Fire Rescue Captain Robert Diaz who has had his share of unusual calls during his career.

After managing to plusck the frightened kitten from the engine compartment, Diaz wasn’t content to simply turn it over to Pasco County Animal Services. With the assistance of his crew, he sent out a plea for a home for the kitten on Facebook. The Sconyers family of four from Wesley Chapel responded within an hour.

"We got home late Mother's Day night from being out of town all day," said Heather Conyers. "I got on Facebook to wish mothers a last-minute Mother's Day and came up Robert Diaz' post. We just adopted a dog on Easter but, without hesitation, I look at my husband and said, 'We're getting a kitten.' I showed him the picture and he said, 'Alright.'"

Sconyers said they stopped by the fire station early the next morning to pick up the kitten before she dropped her daughter off at school.

Heather Sconyers said her two children, Emma, 9, and Wade Jr., 2, have named the female kitten Mia.

“It was a split-second decision," said Sconyers. "She needed a good home, someone to love her and take care of her. She’s just the addition to our family that we needed."

“Pasco County Fire Rescue believes that every life matters, and we will continue to work tirelessly to protect all life and property in Pasco County,” said Fire Rescue spokesman Corey Dierdorff. “Thank you to the crew of Station 13 C-Shift, and thank you to the big-hearted family who adopted our friend Mia.”

Images via Pasco County Fire Rescue

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