Firefighters and rescue teams in some towns are used to occasionally saving cats from trees and rooftops, but not from the wheel well of a car.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 9, Melanie Scaggs of Richmond summoned a rescue team to a Richmond gas station , when she heard a loud meow come from the undercarriage of her car as she began to put air in a low tire.
After looking behind the tire she was attempting to fill, Scaggs said she could see gray fur that resembled her neighbors cat. She tried to coax the frightened cat to come to her, but he was caught in the steering mechanism, with his tail wrapped around the axle.
The Richmond Fire and Rescue Department was called in when it became apparent the situation required professional help. Although the cat lost some fur in the process, gloved firefighters removed the feline from his predicament.
Rescuers took the cat to the Madison County Animal Shelter, where he was cleaned and examined. The cat had some scrapes, but no broken bones, according to Shelter Spokesman Keith Crawford.
The neighbors who Scaggs believed owned the cat were called, and after the felines identity was confirmed, an appointment was made to pick him up, Crawford said.
Posted: May 11, 2006, 5:00 a.m. EST