Before Starting Your Car in Winter, Listen for 'Tok Tok Tok'... Check for Stray Cats Hiding in Your Vehicle

Animal Group: "Engine Room Should Be Knocked or Door Opened and Closed Widely"

In winter, there are guests who hide under car hoods or in engine compartments parked on the street or in front of houses. These are stray cats wandering the streets. Stray cats, seeking shelter from the cold, often visit car hoods or engine compartments overnight.

When the vehicle's engine is started, the heat generated in the engine compartment can cause burns or even death to young cats. Because of this, fire authorities and animal organizations request that drivers check whether cats have entered the vehicle before starting the engine every winter.

A stray cat hiding inside the car. Busan Animal Love Stray Cat Protection Alliance

The Busan Animal Love Stray Cat Protection Coalition launched the 'Morning Knock' campaign to ensure vehicle safety and protect stray cats during winter. They urged, “Please allow cats to naturally leave the vehicle.”

In fact, cases of cats entering vehicle engine compartments occur especially frequently during the cold winter months. According to the Gangwon-do Fire Headquarters, from 2019 over three years, there were a total of 104 rescue operations for cats that had entered car engine compartments in Gangwon-do, with 36 cases, or 34.6%, concentrated in the cold winter season.

Morning Knock involves knocking on the engine hood or opening and closing the car doors loudly before starting the engine. Also, sitting in the seat, stamping feet, and honking the horn can help. The noise encourages cats hiding in the engine compartment to naturally come out.

Campaign conducted by Busan Animal Love Street Stray Cat Protection Alliance. Busan Animal Love Street Stray Cat Protection Alliance

Since the 1st of this month, this animal protection group has been out on the streets spreading the campaign to citizens together with pet owners from 16 districts of Busan and the animal department teams of the respective district offices. They also participated together in Miryang and Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, not just in Busan.