Video shows Houston firefighter rescuing cat stuck in car engine

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Firefighters spoke exclusively to Eyewitness News about a big challenge...not fighting a fire, but rescuing a kitten.

A viewer sent cell phone video from Station 31 on Crosstimbers in northwest Houston. A woman who could hear a cat meowing somewhere in her car drove up asking for help.

Firefighters found the kitten stuck between the engine and the vehicle frame. Getting her out wasn't as easy as it looked.

"Its little head was stuck, so the guy went and grabbed a little bit of dish soap, lathered him up and tried to get him to slip out," said firefighter Joseph Reyes. "He was pulling. And you can hear the cat kind of in pain and finally we got him out safe."

The kitten is living in a box at the fire station until firefighters can find a permanent home.