Missing cat Fatty Belly stowed under car bonnet to avoid trip to Newcastle vets
A HITCHHIKING cat's owner has appealed for news of her beloved pet's whereabouts after he stowed away under the bonnet of a car.
Pensioner Sue Dawson had been taking black and white moggy Fatty Belly to a vet for routine injections in Newcastle last Thursday morning.
But as the 65-year-old went to take him out of her car, his cage sprung open, and the nervous pet ran off to take refuge under a nearby car.
It was the start of a saga that saw Fatty Belly taking an unplanned detour to a local Asda supermarket, after the car's owner drove off unaware of the feline passenger, who had hitched a lift on a ledge under the car's engine.
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Sue, of Station Road, Miles Green, near Audley, who also has a two-year-old Cockeranian dog named Benji, said: "He hates going into the box. When he goes to the vets he freezes. He knew where he was going. I can still see the look on his face now.
"When he shot under the car I went into panic mode. I took the dog into the vets, tied him up and left him there.
"I went back outside, got onto my hands and knees and saw him under the car."
However, by the time Sue had spoken to the car's owner, Fatty Belly, who was a stray until six years ago, had disappeared.
Sue searched frantically all around the area, even asking to look in the premises of a local business next to the vets.
She said: "I was terrified but there was no sign of him."
Then, within half an hour, while waiting in The Croft Veterinary Clinic with Benji, the phone rang. The man who owned the car that Fatty Belly had hidden under had found him. After driving more than two miles away to Asda in Wolstanton he heard a meow.
The driver then discovered Fatty Belly on a ledge under the engine.
As he had not thought of asking for Sue's number, he contacted the vets, where she was waiting.
But by the time Sue arrived at Asda, Fatty Belly had given the driver the slip.
She said: "I spent more than three hours looking for him but it was so noisy and busy."
The pet, who is around 14 years old, has been microchipped and was given to her by a close friend who had been feeding him as a stray.
Audrey Middleton, a volunteer at Iris's Cats In Need in Tunstall, said: "We hear about four times a year that a cat has escaped on the way to or back from the vets. You have to be so careful, they can be very traumatised by the visit."
Sue said: "I start getting upset when I think about it. He has never gone off before, but he is pretty street wise."
Anyone spotting a a black cat with white circles is asked to call Sue on 01782 720 678.
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