Must share this with the group. I got up this morning to move the truck (street cleaning day). After turning over, I hear this odd clunk from under the hood. Now as many of you know, I've had this 93 for a little over a month. I have had no problems (knocks on wood) to date. So, before shutting it off, I pop the hood and I notice what appears to be power steering fluid on the ground...great sprung a leak or blew the high pressure hose....nope! To my horror, a small black cat had decided to take refuge in the fan shroud over night. The "PS fluid" was her blood. Racing back to shut the truck down because her body was blocking the fan, I feared the worst and called the Humane Society immediately. She wasn't moving....bad...but as I shut the hood lightly to preserve her dignity, she began to whine...not dead..good..but obviously injured severly..or so I thought. Humane Society officer arrives and retrieves small black kitten with a badly cut nose but otherwise alive and very much kicking. So, ok maybe I'm a sap but I shed a tear for the little thing. While I am admittedly NOT a cat person, the idea of having killed or mamed the little thing was really bugging me. I was very happy to discover that surgery could and most likely would keep her alive and the Humane Society would find her a good home.

So, the advice from the officer was to sound the horn briefly before starting the truck in the morning especially after a chilly night...or at least make plenty of noise getting into the truck. I suppose if I was stuck outside on a frigid night, the pseudo-warmth of a recently running truck radiator would be nice. I know, I know, I'm a sap but I figured I'd share.

 

Man, a story like that should end with ...so I'm going to keep the little bugger and call her Lucky.....

 

Oh, forgot to include that part..I have the contact receipt from the Humane Society. I can contact them in a few weeks if I want to adopt her!

 

Oh if you dont adopt her I will after sticking you in the fan shroud first! My fourth cat, (or should I say my girlfiend's) came about kinda the same way....but it included blocking traffic for 20 minutes on Broadway while gettin the little critter out from above the muffler. Them little furry ones sure can get us to do some strange things for em. Gotta love em!

 

yo,
We have squirrels eating the insulation off the wiring; neighbor's f 150 had it's engine/frame ground cable insulation chewed off in a 14 inch section.
Another neighbor's cat seems to spend time under our bronco; the remore door lock clunking sound wakes it up; I can see the day when it doesn't wake up though.

 

BTW,, My gf read this post and says Lucky is the perfect name.

 

Had a Ford Courier fan eat a kitten once, it was a stray but I felt bad. Had to take it to the vet and get it put down. Sad thing is, neighbor lady heard about it, claimed she was planning on taking it home and demanded that I pay her for the kitten. After $50 at the vets? Not a chance.
One of my own cats rode all over base underneath our van once till we heard her meowing at a stopsign. I always checked after that.

 

I have a not-so-good story about a cat and a ford.

My dad sold real estate years ago, and he had an '85 F-150. He was at a client's house, and was getting ready to leave. He started the truck up, and it made a horrible noise as it turned over. He popped the hood with the client standing there, and looked in and saw the guy's cat caught up in the fan belt. The cat didn't make it. Unfortunately, it was the guy's wife's favorite cat.

He didn't get the listing, either.

 

I prefer stories with happy endings myself.

My wife's cat somehow made a several-mile trip underneath her sister's Suburban, only to hop out when they got to the grocery store. I still have no idea where she was hiding or how she held on, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't in the engine compartment. It was a very greasy white cat for a little while after that.

Greystreak, get the kitty. Your wife was supportive of getting the new Bronco, and you know that girls just luuuv kitties.

 

Bigric,

Already called the Humane Society and they will let me know when she has fully recovered and I can come get her. And you are right she is worth it.

 

My alligator luvs kitties, too... j/k...he's too little to eat them yet.

 

Good for you, rescued animals are the best.

I was coming home from a football game back in 87 when my truck broke down (Chevy of course). While standing there in the parking lot at 2:00 in the morning, this fuzzy little thing with huge green eyes crawled out from under the truck. I didn't know if she had been there since the parking lot, or if she came from the woods. Didn't matter much either way - I considered it meant to be.

I named her Bascomb after the church where the truck broke down. She's still around today.

Bronco related material: My buddy rolled by a few minutes after my truck died in his '82 Bronco and took me home to get my dad - been a Bronco fan ever since.

 

greystreak:

After the kitten recovers, train it to attack and kill anyone who would try to vandalize your new truck. Hell, turn an ammo box sideways and bolt it underneath as a safe place to sleep! I'll vote for "Lucky", also, though "Blackstreak" might describe the scene, from now on, when she hears the sound of your truck cranking. Good story.....