“Chippy” recovering after Highway 1 rescue where elusive kitten was found hiding in car engine

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- A small kitten named "Chippy" is recovering after being rescued from a car engine along Highway 1.

Back on Friday, June 14, the scared kitten was found running in the middle of the lanes along Highway 1 in Monterey.

CHP Officer Ryan Moore saw the kitten and did his best to try to safely grab the kitten from the highway.

“At first I stopped on the left hand side but when I went to grab the kitten, she ran across the lanes. I immediately thought: oh gosh, please don’t get hit!" said Moore.

The officer acted quickly and worked to stop traffic briefly on the highway to save the lil cat.

Tom Greely was driving his Prius to work and noticed the traffic break.

“I could see the tiny kitten running on the shoulder of the highway," said Greely.

The kitten proved elusive, however, with Officer Moore unable to catch her.

“My hand was just a foot away from grabbing her, then she ran up and behind the Prius engine,” said Officer Moore.

SPCA Monterey County Humane Investigations had to be called in, but the cars zooming by along the Highway were too loud for them to be able to hear the kitten.

SPCA staff said they moved the vehicle into a nearby parking lot where they were able to find the kitten using a small camera on a wire to find her through the maze of auto parts and wiring.

The SPCA Monterey County said they named the cat "Chippy" after the CHP officers who helped her.

Chippy has been taken care of ever since and will be available for adoption next week.