It's no longer a secret that cats can sleep anywhere. They are even often found sleeping in uncommon places such as under the car, on top of the car, or even inside the car hood.
So, what is the reason?
A veterinarian from The Paws Pet, Marie Celina Lughti-Mergilla, explained that the habit of sleeping or simply taking shelter on the hood of a car is their natural instinct to look for a safer and warmer place.
โCats like warm places. Because they have a higher body temperature than humans," said Mergilla.
"Stray cats usually come into the engine room because they are looking for shelter to stay warm. They do this to save energy when taking a nap. They also like the engine room, because it is dark and they can sleep in peace," she added.
According to Cats Protection, the fact that they sleep a lot is an extraordinary characteristic of cats in general. The average cat spends 18 - 20 hours sleeping a day. Some experts say this habit is normal and necessary for cats to help them develop. Now this makes sense why they like to sleep in unusual places like the car hood considering they might look for places that make them feel safe and comfortable for their long sleep.
Then how do they get there?
Cats can get into this space by climbing on the car's wheels and moving into the space above. With the flexibility of cats' bodies, they will be able to navigate the winding paths under the hood of the car. Even though it's dark, it doesn't matter because cats have sharp eyesight. This is where they feel warm and comfortable to sleep.
This cat habit will be done more often when entering winter or the rainy season. Because of this, it is recommended that the car owners look around the car, take a look around the wheels, check the rims, and under the hood of the car before starting the engine and driving. This is because it can be dangerous for the cats if the car is driven. They can be injured or even killed.
How to take them out?
If the car owners find a cat around or inside the machine, try to take them out by calling them or luring them out with food.
In some cases, adult cats even got stuck in the gap between the machines. This is because usually when the car owner tries to take them out, some cats feel it is a threat so they do not want to get out. Because their body that relatively fat, humans find it difficult to take them out.
If so, honking the car horn is the ultimate alternative for getting cats to come out of hiding. Honk the car horn several times to get the cat to run away.
"Knocking on the hood of the car or honking the horn will definitely scare or stress them, so they may be afraid to get out," Mergilla explains.
This trick also helps even if car owners do not see any cats
but are also not sure if there are any. They can honk the car horn to check
while also driving away cats from around the car.
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