Adam Hughes, Culdrose takes car apart to rescue kitten in Cornwall

After returning from work at the RNAS Culdrose base near Helston, Adam Hughes saw what he believed was a piece of cardboard on the inner perimeter road of the airfield, but he soon realised it was a small, injured kitten who was dragging its leg behind as it ran.

Adam wanted to prevent the kitten from being in further pain or danger, so he got out of his car to pick the kitten up, but it limped quickly away and escaped under a Volkswagen Golf on the opposite side of the road. Unfortunately, as Adam approached, along with two junior aircrews, the small grey-brown tabby jumped into the exhaust pipe and the car's engine chamber.

Despite searching under the car and wheel arches with their phone torches, the kitten was nowhere to be seen.

Eight-week old Fergie is now recovering after her leg amputation

Adam, a Leonardo Helicopter Engineer at the base, sadly lost his family's pet cat the day before and explained he wasn't going to leave the kitten behind.

“I was going home to comfort my family because we had lost our own cat Orlando to renal failure the day before.

"He had been a much-loved part of the family and really helped my daughter’s mental health during the lockdown. There was no way I was going to leave a potentially injured kitten behind,” said Adam.

The owner of the Volkswagen was in a nearby hangar and with the help of tools from a passing lorry driver who was spotted with the commotion, Adam was permitted to dismantle the car to find the feline.

After removing the turbocharger and pipework, and then jacking up the car to remove the base panels, the kitten was discovered inside a tiny hole between the wheel arch and liner.

Adam said: “Luckily it was an older car so we could peel the liner back and when we did one of the aircrews was able to reach in to get hold of the kitten’s tail and unharmed back leg.

"Very gently, but with much squealing from the kitten, we were able to get her out."

Basking in the sun whilst she recovers

Adam then phoned his wife Helen and daughter Lucy and asked for them to get Orlando's cat box ready to take the kitten to the vets.

"Understandably we were all very emotional but as a family, we never give up on animals and just do our best wherever we can,” Adam added.

Adam called Cats Protection’s Cornwall Adoption Centre for help, having adopted Orlando from the centre 11 years previously. Upon arrival at the centre, it was clear the kitten was no more than eight weeks old and had a broken leg.

She was rushed to the vet for emergency surgery to amputate her leg and give her the best chance of survival and quality of life.

Now recovering well, the team at the centre have named the kitten Fergie, in a nod to the airbase where she was found and inspired by the Budgie the Little Helicopter books written by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.

Adoption centre manager Samantha Lawton says: “We’re so grateful to Adam and everyone who helped save Fergie. She will have been in a lot of pain with her leg and it’s unlikely she would have survived without Adam’s help.

"We believe she is one of three stray kittens that we had heard about on RNAS Culdrose and had been arranging to catch.

“Little Fergie is now with an experienced fosterer and learning how to walk as a tripod or three-legged cat, and play with fishing rod toys, ping-pong balls and toy mice. She has a long journey ahead of her, but she has already shown she is a brave fighter and is beginning to enjoy being among people and home comforts.”

Fergie will be neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped while in care then once she is fully healed and ready for homing her details will be posted on the centre’s website.

Fergie’s vet care, surgery and after-care have cost over £700 so far and anyone wishing to help contribute towards her care may visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cats-protection-Cornwall-acfergiesappeal