Four-year-old Olaf had been missing for four days.
An indoor-only cat who slipped outside the house travelled 15 miles after hitching a ride underneath a neighbour’s car, and was reunited with his owner thanks to his microchip.
Four-year-old Olaf, described by his owner as “a scaredy-cat who can be afraid of his own shadow”, had been missing for four days when he was seen falling from underneath the neighbour’s vehicle as she arrived at work.
He had apparently got underneath the vehicle near his home in Braintree, Essex, and stayed there until driver Abigail Harrison arrived in her work car park 15 miles away in Galleywood.
Ms Harrison, who is deputy manager at the Cats Protection Essex Cat Centre, said Olaf was “understandably a bit skittish” but she and colleagues at the centre got him safely into a carrier.
Olaf was given a clean bill of health after a vet check.
He was reunited with his owner after his microchip revealed her as 55-year-old Hazel Ohler, who lives near to Ms Harrison in Braintree.
Ms Harrison said a colleague who arrived in the car park just after her spotted that the cat had fallen from her car, and they got him in a carrier.
“It all happened so quickly,” said Ms Harrison.
“He must have climbed under the bonnet or wheel arch near my home and fallen asleep.
“I had driven all that way with this poor cat trapped under my car.
“I even stopped for petrol on the way, but he didn’t budge.
“That probably saved him from far worse than a few oil stains.”
She said they checked him over and his microchip revealed he “lived 15 miles away in Braintree where I live – we’re pretty much neighbours”.
“Olaf’s story demonstrates the value of microchips and keeping your contact details up to date, even for indoor cats,” she said.
“We were able to quickly find details for his owners and reunite them.
“When they came to collect him, Olaf immediately perked up and was clearly relieved to be with his family again.
“If he hadn’t been chipped, it is doubtful that the family would have seen him again.”
Ms Ohler said her pet Olaf is an indoor-only cat who had slipped out and gone missing four days earlier.
“Essentially, he’s an indoor cat and has only rarely been in our garden under my supervision,” she said.
“Olaf is a scaredy-cat who can be afraid of his own shadow so this must have been so traumatic for him.
“I was beside myself with worry.
“We did everything we could to find him, putting up posters, sharing appeals on social media, and even having a search party checking garages and gardens.
“I left his litter tray outside and put out food and a blanket from my bed in the hope he’d pick up the scent.
“But as each day passed without sign of him, I started to lose hope.
“I couldn’t believe it when Cats Protection called to say they had found him safe and well – especially when I learned how he had ended up miles from home, trapped under a car.”
Ms Ohler said it was “incredible that he picked that particular car to take a nap in”.
“I am so grateful to the team at Cats Protection for taking good care of their unexpected visitor and returning him to us so quickly,” she said.
“If he hadn’t landed on the doorstep of Cats Protection, I dread to think what might have happened to him.”
