A kitten from New Jersey rode 800 miles jammed inside a car’s undercarriage to Georgia, and the shop that freed him wouldn’t take a cent for the job

A stray kitten survived an 800-mile road trip while wedged inside the undercarriage of a college student’s car. As reported by Dexerto, the trip began in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, and ended roughly eleven hours later in Athens, Georgia, after University of Georgia junior Jadyn Sawyer completed her drive back to campus. The kitten emerged in good health despite the risks that typically come with cats hiding inside engine bays.

Sawyer only discovered her unexpected passenger after arriving at her destination, when she noticed a paw sticking out from beneath her vehicle. Realizing the animal was trapped rather than just hiding, she called her mother to explain what had happened. When campus police could not reach the kitten themselves, they brought in a local rescue group known as Cat Zip Alliance.

Kelly Bettinger, a representative from the rescue group, described the difficulty of the extraction, saying the kitten was “so jammed in up under the undercarriage.” The car was eventually taken to a nearby Tires Plus, where workers dismantled parts of the vehicle to reach the animal, and the shop declined any payment for the labor involved.

The kitten’s survival is considered unusual given the dangers of hiding near an engine

Rescuers named the kitten Jersey, a nod to where his journey began, and he is now set for adoption through Campus Cats and the Cat Zip Alliance. According to Catster, cats seek out engine compartments in cold weather because the space is enclosed, sheltered, and often still warm from recent use, and their flexible bodies let them climb up through the wheel well with relative ease.

Stories of strangers going out of their way to help animals or people in distress tend to resonate widely online, echoing a recent case where a stranger with a metal detector helped a couple recover a lost engagement ring. If a car is driven while a cat is trapped inside, the animal faces serious risks including overheating, exhaust exposure, and injuries from moving engine parts.

Experts recommend checking under the hood, knocking on it, or tapping the horn before starting a car during colder months, especially in areas where strays are common; a habit that stories like a kindness that went viral have also drawn renewed attention to this year. Jersey is currently listed as available for adoption through Campus Cats.