MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A cat that was rescued after falling from a Miami Beach apartment and becoming stuck inside a Mini Cooper parked outside for more than 12 hours shows there might be some truth to the notion that cats have nine lives.
The incident occurred outside an apartment building located along the 7700 block of Abbott Avenue, early Tuesday morning.
Woody fell off his owner’s balcony and landed on the car parked on the side of the apartment building during the overnight hours.
“Woody slipped off the balcony. Didn’t mean to go, he’s an inside cat, but he lost his footing and slipped,” said his owner, Scott Wenger.
Wenger said the frightened feline crawled into the vehicle and somehow became wedged between a tire and the engine of the vehicle.
Woody’s owner said it took him some time to locate his pet.
“I started checking for him every hour. I would come out and check for him,” he said. “About 2:30 in the morning I found him — the sound coming from this car. I wasn’t sure at first.”
As Woody meowed in agony under the hood of the car, Wenger tried to locate the owner of the Mini Cooper with the assistance of a friend.
“We really knew we had to stay in shifts, so that’s what we started doing,” said Wenger. “One of us was always there, so the car couldn’t drive away.”
The concerned owner spent Tuesday morning and part of the afternoon trying to keep his pet calm.
“Immediately behind the wind deflector is a big opening. That’s where he crawled in,” he said.
To ensure Woody’s safety, Wenger left a note advising the owner of the the Mini Cooper not to start the car.
Luckily, Miami Beach Police and Fire Rescue stepped in to help.
Police ran the Mini Cooper’s tag and managed to locate the owner of the vehicle, Luis Lopez.
“I heard the police, like the walkie talkie. I didn’t know what was going on, and they knocked on my door,” said Lopez.
Officers told Lopez to go check on his car.
7News cameras captured the moment when Lopez walked over to his car and formally met Wenger.
“You’re the guy?” said Wenger.
“Yeah,” said Lopez.
“OK. Awesome, awesome, go real slow,” said Wenger.
Once Lopez popped open the hood of the Cooper, it did not take long to spot the cat.
7News cameras captured Woody, barely visible underneath the Cooper’s engine.
When Woody meowed, Wenger said, “I know. I wouldn’t want to be in there either.”
The two men worked together to pull Woody out of the vehicle.
“Awesome. I’m so glad we found you,” Wenger said to Luis as the men reached into the hood. “OK, now, real gentle, and then he’s scared to death of people.”
After a little maneuvering, Wenger and Woody were reunited.
“I’m super happy, man. I’m super glad, super happy that the cat is fine,” said Lopez, “I’m so glad I didn’t turn on the engine or hurt the cat.”
The happy ending brought a long sleepless ordeal to an end for Wenger and Woody.
“He hasn’t eaten in 24 hours, hasn’t slept. He just cried all night long,” he said. “He’s all full of grease, too.”
Woody has been living with Wenger for nine years. He was taken the vet to be treated for a small fracture and a little bruising to his liver.
He has since been released and is back home with Wenger.
“We were happy, they were happy. It was a great outcome,” said Wenger.
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