Regional Industry & News

Stray cat survives 800-mile ride under UGA student’s car from New Jersey to Athens

ATHENS, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A stray cat survived more than 11 hours and nearly 800 miles tucked underneath a University of Georgia student’s car, traveling from New Jersey to Athens without the driver’s knowledge.

UGA junior Jadyn Sawyer had just returned to campus from New Jersey when she noticed a cat’s paw reaching out from underneath her parked car. Sawyer said she called her mom after making the discovery.

“I said, ‘There’s a cat in my car,’” Sawyer said. “She said, ‘Jadyn, roll down the windows.’ I said, ‘Not in that way – it’s IN my car.’”

Sawyer said she believes the cat climbed into her car in New Jersey and survived the entire trip to Athens. She called campus police after spotting the animal.

Officers were unable to free the cat on their own. Kelly Bettinger with Cat Zip Alliance responded to assist.

“He was so jammed in up under the undercarriage. I still don’t know how he got where he was,” Bettinger said. “We could not get him out. UGA police had some tools; they started taking bolts out, and we still could not get to him.”

Bettinger then contacted Tires Plus on College Station Road. Crews dismantled parts of the car piece by piece until they reached the cat.

“I’m a cat lover. I love cats,” Bettinger said. “And so if it was my responsibility that something bad happened to it, I would not be able to forgive myself.”

Chris Hinely with Tires Plus said staff have seen cats hide under cars before, but not in a spot that difficult to access and not in the middle of summer.

“You usually see it in cooler months when they’re looking for somewhere warm — they will get underneath the cars, sit up underneath the engines and hide out,” Hinely said. “But that little fella had a long ride.”

The cat has since been named Jersey in honor of his unexpected road trip. He is doing well and will soon be available for adoption. Reach out to Campus Cats/Cat Zip Alliance at feralcatcaregivers@yahoo.com for more information if you are interested in adopting Jersey.