Meowed miserably

Small tiger freed from engine compartment by fire department

Fortunately, nothing happened to the cat.(Bild: HFW Villach)

On the way home from the Villach church festival, passers-by heard miserable meowing outside a pub in the city center. 

The alarm was raised at Villach main fire station at around 9.30 pm. On site, the emergency services were quickly able to identify a locked car, or more precisely its engine compartment, as the source of the meowing. "Unfortunately, we were unable to locate the owner of the vehicle, so we had to gently open the side door," reports head of operations Abuja Markus. "Then we were able to unlock the hood."

Inside, the emergency services found a small velvet paw, which fortunately could be freed completely unharmed. "The animal was taken to the main fire station, where a fellow firefighter agreed to take it into his care overnight," explains Chief Fire Officer Alexander Scharf. "This morning, the baby cat was taken to the animal shelter in Villach for further care." The search is now on for the owner of the little house cat.