NAGASAKI — Cases of kittens crawling inside car engine compartments have been repeatedly occurring, prompting the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) to urge drivers to perform a quick “cat check” before starting their vehicles.
Many of these kittens were born during the spring breeding season and are believed to be climbing into car hoods to seek shelter from Japan’s rainy season, which is a phenomenon that happens around the same time every year. JAF is calling on drivers to tap the hood before starting the engine.
“I can hear a cat meowing from my car, but I can’t see it,” a woman in her 40s from the city of Nagasaki told the JAF dispatch center one morning in early June. She had just driven to work when she noticed the sound.
Koji Hamasaki, a 56-year-old worker at JAF’s Nagasaki Branch, rushed to the scene. When he tapped on the woman’s car, a faint meow could be heard from inside. Upon opening the hood, a tail sticking out through a gap about 5 centimeters wide near one of the headlights was spotted. The space was so cramped that the kitten appeared unable to move freely. When he tapped near the front wheel, the kitten turned around, allowing him to see its face.
The kitten seemed to relax a bit when Hamasaki mimicked a cat’s meow, and the animal crawled out on its own. The “rescued” feline measured about 20 centimeters in length.
The kitten had apparently climbed into the woman’s car while it was parked at her home and ended up riding all the way to her workplace. Hamasaki told her, “Please take it back home and let it go, so it can return it to its mother.”
According to the worker, the underside of many vehicles has a gap of about 10 centimeters, although the size varies by model. An adult cat cannot fit through it, but a kitten sometimes can. Inside the engine compartment are belts that drive the alternator and other components. There are reportedly cases in which the engine was started while the kitten was still inside, resulting in the animal being caught in the moving parts and dying.
That is why JAF is encouraging drivers to perform a so-called “cat check.” Before starting the engine, drivers should gently tap the hood and listen carefully for any meowing. JAF advises drivers to be especially careful if they often see cats near where the car is parked or if they are about to drive a vehicle that has been sitting unused for a while.
A JAF representative said, “We want people to open the hood regularly and check inside.” As a preventive measure, if a driver finds cat hair on vehicle parts, apparently using a cat repellent spray can help keep the felines away.
According to JAF, there were 402 cases of cats rescued from inside car hoods across Japan in June 2025. In Nagasaki Prefecture alone, there were 15 rescues during the month, averaging about one every two days.
(Japanese original by Naoki Soeya, Nagasaki Bureau)
