Tiny kitten travels more than 100 miles before being found in car engine by Scottish mechanic

A tiny kitten which travelled more than 100 miles before being discovered in a car engine by a stunned garage worker has been adopted by the person who found it.
Gasket's original owners, who live in Rathlin View near Campeltown, Argyll and Bute, and have two daughters the same age, decided the cat should stay in its new home.Gasket's original owners, who live in Rathlin View near Campeltown, Argyll and Bute, and have two daughters the same age, decided the cat should stay in its new home.
Gasket's original owners, who live in Rathlin View near Campeltown, Argyll and Bute, and have two daughters the same age, decided the cat should stay in its new home.

Used car manager Gavin Wilson, 45, was starting work on a Toyota Yaris when a ginger furball leapt out of the bonnet and sped across the workshop.

Gavin and his colleague tried to catch the kitten, but it had vanished.

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But when they put a Subaru Wrx up on a ramp at the Helensburgh Toyota garage, in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, the tiny feline was hiding in the engine gasket.

Mystery surrounds the exact route that Gasket took, but he was reported to have been spotted being attacked by magpies in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, a week ago.Mystery surrounds the exact route that Gasket took, but he was reported to have been spotted being attacked by magpies in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, a week ago.
Mystery surrounds the exact route that Gasket took, but he was reported to have been spotted being attacked by magpies in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, a week ago.
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They snapped a picture and put it on Facebook in a bid to track down the owner, before cat lover Gavin took the kitten, nicknamed Gasket, to the vet to be checked over.

His daughters, Claire, aged ten, and Laura, aged eight, immediately fell for the three-month-old male, and were heartbroken when a family 115 miles away commented on the Facebook post to say they had lost a cat matching Gasket's description.

But Gasket's original owners, who live in Rathlin View near Campeltown, Argyll and Bute, and have two daughters the same age, decided the cat should stay in its new home.

Gavin said: "We named him Gasket as he was found in the engine bay area.

"It would get really hot and he was lucky not to get caught in the fan belt.

"He spent a lovely evening with my two girls, I had to explain to them if it was their cat they'd want him to be returned."

Mystery surrounds the exact route that Gasket took, but he was reported to have been spotted being attacked by magpies in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, a week ago.

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Former owner Kevin McMillan, 59, spoke to Gavin on the phone and decided Gasket would have a better quality of life if he stayed with the family who have been caring for him.

His daughters, Korri, aged eight, and Taylor, aged ten, had been distraught when the cat they named Honey vanished, but their dad plans to take them to visit Helensburgh.

Retiree Kevin said: "A mother cat turned up on our doorstep with two kittens, a black one and a ginger one. We were putting food down but we last saw it on December 22.

"It just disappeared off the face of the earth.

"We went out looking for it but couldn't find him, and I assumed it had either fallen into water or been hit by a car as we live near a fast road.

"I saw one of the cats going into the wheel arch, I think they go into the engine to keep warm.

"It could have gone to Dunoon, or it could have gone straight to Helensburgh.

"I'm absolutely sure it's the same animal as the markings are the same and it's the same age.

"We might pop down and see it and the little girls are happy to give it a home.

"The weans are not so happy but it should have a good life.

"It's a lovely wee animal, the one that went missing was a more gentle one. They will love it to death.

"The outcome was the best for the animal."

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