tbg@apollo.uucp (Tom Gross) (03/25/86)
> This reminds me of a warning that may have save a cat's life. If you > have a car with lots of space under the hood, then you should tap your > horn before you start your car up during the winter. If there is room, > cats will sometimes crawl up into the motor compartment to get a > little warmth. I have heard of this, but have no first hand knowledge of cats getting under a hood. However, while I was away at Siggraph last summer a mouse built a nest INSIDE THE CARBURETOR of my 1980 Corolla sedan. It's not clear how much damage was actually done by the mouse (the car was due for some renovation anyway), but for days I was pulling nesting material out (the mice I got right away, I think). Not kidding, Tom Gross Apollo Computer, Inc. Chelmsford, MA
mc68020@gilbbs.UUCP (Tom Keller) (03/27/86)
In article <2cb0eca1.2a75@apollo.uucp>, tbg@apollo.uucp (Tom Gross) writes: > > This reminds me of a warning that may have save a cat's life. If you > > have a car with lots of space under the hood, then you should tap your > > horn before you start your car up during the winter. If there is room, > > cats will sometimes crawl up into the motor compartment to get a > > little warmth. > > I have heard of this, but have no first hand knowledge of cats > getting under a hood. Actually happens! A few years back, a neighbor of ours came screaming hysterically to us..seems she had gotten in the car to go to the store, and when she went to start the engine, there was a gawdawful racket under the hood, and a cat went shreiking off into the bushes. Apparently the cat had been sleeping on the valve cover, and when the engine started, his tail got caught by the fan. In any case, the cat lost ~~2/3 of his tail, and a sizable portion of the fur and skin on his hind-quarters. It took us 6 hours to calm him down enough so we could catch him and take him to the vet. Poor cat...poor lady! -- ==================================== Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim any and all responsibility for disclaimers. tom keller {ihnp4, dual}!ptsfa!gilbbs!mc68020 (* we may not be big, but we're small! *)
garth@inuxd.UUCP (Garth Johnson) (03/28/86)
Once I was helping a friend get his car started in the parking lot where we worked. We opened the hood and took off the air cleaner to get a better look at the carb. Upon closer inspection we found . 5 or 6 large bones, like you might find in a roast or steak, sitting on the intake manifold. We weren't quite sure how they got there. Later I came up with the idea that a rat may have found the bones in the trash and put them there. This occurred in Detroit, so I have no doubt that there were plenty of rats around. Has anyone else ever found bones in there engine compartment? Does anyone have any theories on how these bones, big bones, got there? Maybe you should check under your hood. Garth Johnson