22

An image macro I've seen a few times, has an image of a cat sitting on top of a car tyre, and says to the effect of 'Reminder, cold season is starting, and cats seek shelter in cars, please check for cats before starting your car'.

Do you cats really regularly sit on top of car tyres, and do they regularly get injured/killed from people starting there cars when they do?

example picture

galacticninja
  • 105
  • 6
dwjohnston
  • 3,013
  • 4
  • 19
  • 45
  • Welcome to Skeptics Stack Exchange! We want to focus our attention on doubtful claims that are widely held or are made by notable people. Please [provide some examples](http://meta.skeptics.stackexchange.com/a/883) of places where this claim is being made. – Jamiec Apr 30 '14 at 10:16
  • Does shared images on facebook count? – dwjohnston Apr 30 '14 at 10:18
  • 3
    @dwjohnston, yes they do – SIMEL Apr 30 '14 at 10:25
  • Not directly related, but a wild kitten my brother was trying to catch hid from him in a tire well. He dragged her out, we kept her, and she *still* hates him to this day. – Bobson Apr 30 '14 at 13:22
  • 2
    Another anecdote, but one of our kittens was found hiding in an engine compartment during a downpour in the fall. It has happened, certainly, but whether weather has anything to do with it (warm or cold) I'm not sure. I could see a recently disengaged car being a great spot for a cat or other animal to warm up, however. – phatskat Apr 30 '14 at 18:34
  • 1
    Is the question about cats sheltering specifically _on tires_ (as in the picture) or anywhere near the engine (as the caption with the picture seems to suggest)? – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Apr 30 '14 at 19:59
  • 2
    Yes, cats do that. Source: Personal experience. – Hello World May 01 '14 at 08:50

1 Answers1

23

Yes they do like to keep warm near the engine. After the car has stopped the engine will stay warm for a considerable amount of time, and a cat who is cold might find shelter in it. As explained by PetMeds.org:

Now that the weather is starting to get colder, outside cats seek out warm, sheltered spots. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for a cat to crawl under the warm hood of a parked car as cats are drawn to the warmth of the engine compartment and the protection from wind and predators. Cats can easily be injured or killed by the fan belt when the car motor is started. If you live in an area with outdoor or feral cats around, there are some steps you can take to prevent injuring a hidden feline passenger:

  • Bang on the hood and/or honk your horn before starting your car.
  • If possible, keep your car parked in the garage with the garage door closed, and don’t allow your own cat access to the garage.
  • Also, before starting your car, take a quick look under your car for cats seeking shelter there.
  • Consider buying or making a cozy, safe shelter for outdoor cats.
  • If you turn on your car and hear any unusual noise, immediately turn off the engine and check under the hood.

Stories about it are plentiful:

Sometimes the cats aren't as lucky and are killed by the engine, like in this (SFW) video depicting a woman removing a dead cat from her engine compartment.

Oddthinking
  • 140,378
  • 46
  • 548
  • 638
SIMEL
  • 29,037
  • 14
  • 123
  • 139
  • 14
    The heat of the engine can attract all kinds of animals, like [cows](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5JkqAj7W87Q/Uu5n4E5H-vI/AAAAAAAASVU/LQIBOcEVpNY/s1600/COW.jpg). – SIMEL Apr 30 '14 at 10:28
  • 7
    that's a hoax http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/cow_on_hood_of_car – David Wilkins Apr 30 '14 at 14:51
  • @DavidWilkins, that comment is a joke, that's why it's in a comment and not part of the answer. – SIMEL Apr 30 '14 at 15:30
  • I didn't notice that you were the answerer...How silly of me – David Wilkins Apr 30 '14 at 15:39
  • 3
    _Stories_ about it may be plentiful, but is there any real data about how often it actually happens? I.e., "do they regularly get injured/killed from people starting there cars when they do?" – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Apr 30 '14 at 19:06
  • @iamnotmaynard, I don't understand what exactly do you feel that is messing? – SIMEL Apr 30 '14 at 19:33
  • 2
    You've presented some evidence that cats will seek warmth/shelter near a car engine (either in the wheel well or under the hood), but the second part of the question was whether cats are regularly injured or killed because of this, which your post doesn't seem to answer. Aside from the video, in which one cat ostensibly died because of being on the wrong engine block at the wrong time (rather than dying of unrelated causes), I'm not sure if there's any evidence here that such injury/death is more than a rare, freak occurrence. – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Apr 30 '14 at 19:52
  • If you want evidence, rather than opinions and anecdotes, I strongly suggest that you contact your local humane association and/or veterinary association. They're the ones who are likely to have the statistics you want. – keshlam Apr 30 '14 at 19:57
  • @iamnotmaynard, the first source clearly says *Cats can easily be injured or killed by the fan belt when the car motor is started* [Here](http://www.tnrrealitycheck.com/killedbyfanbelt.asp) is another case of a dead cat found inside a car engine (**NSFW**). – SIMEL Apr 30 '14 at 20:10
  • 2
    @keshlam I was under the impression that the purpose of this site is to provide evidence rather than opinions and anecdotes. – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Apr 30 '14 at 20:38
  • 1
    @IlyaMelamed I can certainly imagine that a cat potentially _can_ be injured in such a manner, but the question is how common an occurrence that is. I'm not sure if the first source counts as reliable: it offers neither actual numbers (which would provide an answer as to whether it regularly happens) nor sources of its own, and I would say is of little more value than the shared image on Facebook that prompted this question. – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Apr 30 '14 at 20:45
  • Cats unquestionably find warm spots in and around cars (and every other warm spot). Most of those will run away when humans approach the car, or when doors slam, or when the engine is started -- especially since many people pause to (unnecessarily) let the car warm up before driving away -- so I suspect the number actually injured is low. But I would be very surprised if anyone has statistics on that ratio, so I expect that this part of the question will be unanswerable except in generalities; what MAY exist is numbers on how many cats do not get away. – keshlam May 01 '14 at 01:19