She Was Sitting at Drive-In Church When She Heard Desperate Meows Coming from the Engine

Desperate meows during a drive-in church service revealed a cat stuck in a car engine. A tense animal rescue immediately ensued and it's a miracle the poor creature survived!

Sunday sermons can often lead to deep revelations. In fact, that's kind of their purpose.

But on one special Sunday, the Pastor's sermon led to a very different kind of revelation for our family. We discovered a cat stuck in a car engine! 

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Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our church has moved to streaming the services online rather than meeting in-person. It's been tough. But as the digital sign outside our building reads, the church hasn't been closed, just deployed.

Most Sundays, the service is available solely online. But occasionally, our church hosts a drive-in service in order to give out communion. And it was at the drive-in Sunday we discovered a cat stuck in the car engine!

My mother-in-law, Joni, had just parked for the drive-in church service when she thought she heard a meow. As the worship ended and the sermon began, those meows grew louder and more frequent. The passengers in her car heard the desperate cries, along with the parking attendants. Clearly, she had a cat somewhere inside the body of the vehicle!

Thankfully, we live right next door to the church. So, Joni brought her vehicle to our house after the service so we could set to work trying to find the source of the meows.

How Does A Cat Get Stuck In A Car Engine?

As Joni explained how the cat got stuck in the car engine, we knew we had to act fast. 

The day before, Joni was on her way to a funeral home about 30 minutes away. It had been a tough season, as Joni had recently lost her husband, Ron. Now, she was on her way to pay her respects for one of Ron's family members who had passed away.

As she drove down one of the busy city streets, a tiny kitten darted into the road. Joni hit her brakes and pulled to the side, as did several other vehicles. And she gasped as she watched the truck in front of her pass right over top of the kitten.

Thankfully, the truck didn't hit the tiny creature and it ran right for the front of Joni's car.

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It all happened in a matter of seconds. And as my mother-in-law got out of her vehicle, she fully expected to find the kitten injured... or worse.

But as she and several other people looked, they found no sign of the kitten. A Good Samaritan even checked under Joni's car but found nothing. 

Joni got back into her vehicle and continued on to the funeral home with no idea she had a cat stuck in her car engine. 

Rescuing Cat Stuck In Car Engine

The incident deeply shook Joni. In fact, she took an entirely different route home because she feared a car would eventually hit the baby animal. After experiencing so much loss recently, she just couldn't bear the thought of seeing the kitten's body on the side of the road. 

But God knew Joni's heart and was preparing a very special surprise for her and our family!

Amazingly, Joni drove around the rest of the day with no knowledge of the cat stuck in her car engine. The little kitten never made a peep. Mind you, this was right in the heart of Summer in Virginia, with temperatures hitting the upper 80's/lower 90's that week.

So, as soon as we realized this poor cat had been stuck in the engine for more than 24 hours, we knew we had to get her out quickly!

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But of course, it wasn't that easy of a task. The kitten was small enough to move all around the inner mechanics of Joni's vehicle. So, when we opened the hood to try and find her, she moved to the undercarriage.

Joni's vehicle is fairly new and there is a plastic casing running all along the bottom of it, with a small opening in the very middle of the underside of the car. We're guessing that's how the kitten got inside.

But the casing made it impossible for us to see or get to the kitten. And as we lay on the ground in the hot sun, she kept moving to the opposite side of the car from us.

Using God's Gifts

Every now and then, the kitten would let out a slew of meows. And you could hear the desperation in this little creature's cries. As we spent nearly two hours trying to coax her out, we feared what kind of condition this little baby would be in once we finally got to her. . . if we could even get to her.

We all just kept praying. Praying the cat stuck in the engine would be safe. And praying for God to show us how to get her free!

Joni's cousin Kathy played an integral role in the tense rescue. In fact, the devotional she read that morning talked all about using your gifts for God's purposes. But she had no idea the Lord would be revealing her own hidden talent later that day for the purpose of saving a life!

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Kathy decided to try meowing as a way of luring the kitten out. And what we all discovered was she sounded just like a mama cat!

It took more than an hour and lots of patience. But Kathy used her special talent of perfectly imitating a mama cat and finally, the kitten climbed out.

Free at last! | Credit: Mel Johnson

Unfortunately, she ran from under Joni's car, right to the underside of my car, climbing back into the undercarriage! 

But despite our disappointment, this was all part of God's plan. We started the whole process over again, with Kathy calling out as "mama cat".

This time, the kitten crawled up and inside the front of my car. Her meows helped us track her movement. So, we opened up the hood and my husband was able to reach down and free the cat stuck in the engine! 

Tense Animal Rescue Has Happy Ending

To our amazement, this tiny creature showed absolutely no signs of injury. But we knew she had to be tired, hungry, hot, and traumatized. Even so, she only hissed twice, then let my husband cradle and pet her.

We took this precious baby inside and immediately gave her access to food and water. She ate a little and drank a lot. We grabbed an animal crate out of our garage and set her up alone in our bedroom so she could have some time to rest and calm down. We shooed our excited, young daughters out of the room, explaining the kitten needed some peace and quiet.

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Before this day, we'd already considered our household "at capacity." In addition to my husband, Ryan, myself, and our two girls (ages 9 and 6), we already had two fur-babies -- a 1-year-old Doberman and a 15-year-old cat.

So, naturally, I kept insisting our miracle kitten was only a temporary visitor. And I'm sure God was probably laughing at me the whole time!

Miracle Cat Stuck In Car Engine Is Safe

Even after this cat was stuck in the car engine for over 24 hours, she was in great shape. Not a scratch on her. The vet guessed her age at somewhere around 6 weeks. And even after such a traumatic experience, she was just as sweet and loving as could be.

We knew the whole thing was a miracle. And even though this kitten was right where God wanted her to be, I kept insisting we'd be finding another home for her. 

It's funny, really. I'm an avid animal lover and HUGE softie. Yet, here I was, coming up with all the reasons we couldn't keep her.

We simply didn't need any more animals, I reasoned. She could stay at our house for 1 week until we left for our family vacation. Then we would turn her over to Joni's neighbor who volunteers at a cat rescue. 

The whole time, God was telling me this kitten was for us. He had some help, too, from Joni and our two daughters. Even my husband, Ryan, mister "no more animals" himself was championing for the cause.

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I'm betting you already know how this story ends. Halfway through a week of kitten cuddles, playful pounces, and sweet purrs, I caved. After rescuing this miracle cat who was stuck in the car engine, how could I turn her over to someone else? 

An Unexpected Blessing

And so, the miracle kitty, named Poi-Poi by our kids, is officially part of the family. She's been an unexpected blessing, letting our girls carry her all around and curling up with them during reading time.

She greets each of us and brings us daily joy and laughter. And these days, that's priceless. Poi-Poi even gets along with our dog, Rogue, which is a dream come true for him. He doesn't care if his new, furry friend is feline and a fraction of his size!

Meet the Clawed Creature Under The Couch | Credit: Mel Johnson

And as Poi-Poi's sweet personality comes out more and more, I know this is what God intended all along!

By the way, should you find any typos in this story, they probably came from Poi-Poi. ;) She's ready for me to quit writing and start snuggling!

"You stop the work now and snuggle?" | Credit: Mel Johnson

It may not always be a cute kitten in need of a loving home. But so often we can find ourselves resisting God's promptings. Is there something in your life where God is asking you to say "yes"? And what surprises might God have in store for you if you do?

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I certainly hope Poi-Poi's story brightened your day and inspired you to look for God's unexpected blessings!

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Mel is the senior writer for GodUpdates, finding, writing and sharing Christian, uplifting, and health-related stories from around the world. Mel has a passion for writing and graduated with a degree in English from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. When she’s not researching and writing stories, Mel is very active in her church. You can usually find Mel playing board games with her husband and two young girls, giving someone a hug, or hunting down a good cup of coffee!