Winter check for your car: How to identify cats and small animals in the engine compartment

When the days and nights grow colder, it's not just us humans who long for a warm spot. Cats and other small animals – like martens, mice, or dormice – also seek shelter from the wind and weather. They often end up in what they believe to be protective hiding places under cars or even inside the engine compartment and bodywork.

If they go unnoticed before departure, this can result in serious injuries or even death.

With the onset of the cold season come wind, cold, rain, and snow. Animals then seek shelter and are instinctively drawn to warm, enclosed spaces. Cars initially appear safe, as they offer protection from the elements and the eyes of predators.

Especially free-roaming and stray cats like to seek out this cozy spot to warm up, thanks to the residual heat from the engine. The rubber tires have good insulating properties and protect the feline paws from the cold, while the wheel arches shield them from wind, snow, and rain.

Cats also like to leave their kittens in the supposedly safe corners of cars. The kittens, in particular, sometimes climb all the way to the furthest recesses of the undercarriage, making them difficult to see and rescue. They are often only discovered by their faint meows.

At first glance, cats and other animals hiding under the car don't seem like a big problem. They probably get scared when the engine starts and simply run away.

However, these four-legged creatures don't just stay under the car, but also on the tires, in the wheel wells, in the engine compartment, or behind the underbody panels. Startled by the engine noise, the animals can get stuck under the car while trying to escape, becoming trapped in the moving parts of the engine compartment and suffering damage simply from the intense heat of a running engine. Their fur can also get caught in the engine and cause serious injuries. Heat buildup or insufficient ventilation can also pose a problem.

Besides kittens, older cats are also particularly prone to accidents in this way, as they no longer hear as well and are usually slower than their younger counterparts.

Sandra Kögel from the Federal Association of German Animal Rescue Services (Bundesverband Gemeinschaft Deutscher Tierrettungsdienste eV) , an umbrella organization of several animal rescue services primarily in southern Germany, is also aware that trapped or hidden cats often trigger emergency calls.

According to the members, there are some regional differences. The animal rescuers themselves cannot pinpoint the reason. Such call-outs are particularly frequent in the Böblingen, Neckarsulm, and Heilbronn areas, while the Unterland animal rescue service has to respond to them about once or twice a month. In Heidelberg, Chemnitz, Bayreuth, and for the Untermain animal rescue service, it happens only a few times a year.

However, it is not only animal rescuers who are called, the fire brigade is also frequently involved, motorists attempt a rescue themselves or head to a repair shop.

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Especially in winter, drivers should check their tires and underneath the car before starting their journey, even before starting the engine. This only takes a few minutes and can save lives.

Tap the hood a few times and lightly kick the tires to startle the animals. If you have a little more time, you can also briefly lift the hood. Some animal lovers also suggest giving the horn a short honk. However, anyone who regularly honks their horn at six in the morning is unlikely to make many friends in the neighborhood.

When you start the engine, wait a little while before actually driving off. This gives cats, for example, the chance to leave their hiding places and make their escape.

Animals can hide under other people's cars, or cats might seek refuge in their own owner's car. Either way, there are several measures you can take beforehand to prevent animals from choosing your car as a place of refuge.

• Engage the handbrake : This prevents the car from rolling away unexpectedly when driving off or starting the engine, thus preventing animals from escaping.
• Setting up an outdoor sleeping area : By setting up an alternative cozy sleeping spot near the house or car, you can keep your own or stray cats away from cars.
• Ultrasound as a cat deterrent : These devices use high-frequency sounds or, in some cases, flashing lights to keep animals away. They are usually mounted in the engine compartment and powered by the car battery. There are also devices that can be mounted outside the car. These devices, also known as marten deterrents, are available starting at around ten euros. The high-pitched sounds are barely audible to adults, but should not be installed near children's bedrooms, as children have more sensitive hearing. There is a risk that the animals will become accustomed to the sounds, but many users report positive experiences.
• Scents as cat deterrents : Sensitive noses dislike strong smells. There are special cat repellent granules that are regularly applied around the parking area to keep cats away. Home remedies such as chili peppers, pepper, coffee grounds, vinegar, true lavender, peppermint, lemongrass, eucalyptus, and rosemary are said to have the same effect. Some swear by the harlequin plant ( Plectranthus ornatus ), also known as the "piss-off plant ." Its scent is said to repel cats, martens, and even dogs, while humans barely notice it.

Animal rescue teams and fire departments are frequently called out to rescue animals trapped under cars or caught in the engine. To free the small, fluffy creatures, they use endoscopes and remove wheels, body panels, or even the entire underbody protection.

Sometimes the cats can be rescued unharmed. For example, a kitten traveled 240 kilometers as a stowaway in a wheel well from Hanover to Bochum . Thanks to an implanted microchip, it was later returned to its owners unharmed, as reported by the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung. Another young animal even traveled in the engine compartment from Croatia to Austria , a six-hour journey covering several hundred kilometers.

Unfortunately, not all cases end so well. In Munich, a man called the ADAC (German Automobile Club) because his car started smoking when he started driving. An employee discovered a cat trapped near the fan belt. Munich Animal Rescue was able to free the injured animal, whose left front leg had suffered severe injuries.

A cat owner even went to court to hold a driver accountable for running over her cat under his car and billing him for veterinary costs exceeding €2,000. The Krefeld Regional Court ( Krefeld Regional Court | Case No. 3 S 8/19 ) rejected the claim.

According to the court, drivers are not required to check whether a cat is hiding under their car before driving off. The court pointed out to the cat's owner that she could not hold other road users responsible if she herself let her animal roam unsupervised.

While you can't prevent cats from seeking shelter under cars, providing an alternative safe place nearby can help.

Provide outdoor cats with a sheltered space, even if they can come and go as they please through a cat flap. Many cats enjoy fresh air even in the colder months. A small, weatherproof cat house, ideally placed on a slight rise, is best. Cats prefer this position to keep an eye on their territory.