The Cat in the Dash

Most of us have heard of the Cheshire Cat in Wonderland and the Cat in the Hat, but I bet you haven’t heard of the Cat in the Dash.

His story goes like this:

Once there was a boy named Uthmaan Behardien. Uthmaan has always wanted a cat – for as long as he can remember, in fact. Little did he know that his dream would finally come true on January 16. As we all know no joy can come without at least a little hardship.

“My sister Munashrah and I were just driving around when we coincidentally found ourselves on the same road as the Roodepoort/ Krugersdorp SPCA. We then decided it’s a good day to adopt a kitten, and so we did,” he said.

On their way home they stopped at Westgate Shopping Centre to get some supplies for the newest addition of the family. While Munashrah went into the shopping centre, Uthmaan stayed in the car with the two-month-old kitten.

“I let him out of the box so he could explore the inside of the car while we waited – and boy, was that a bad idea! As soon as he was out of the box he seemed to have gotten a fright and hid under one of the seats. When I tried to get him out he panicked and darted for the dashboard.”

The little kitten then made his way into the space behind the dashboard. According to this cat lover it was a scary situation as they could clearly hear the kitten, but could not see him.

They then went to their previous neighbours who live close to Westgate to ask for help. By that time they could hear him behind the radio, next to the steering wheel.

“We tried to open the side panels and just saw his little paw, but we still couldn’t get him out. Well, there were tears and we didn’t know what to do. We then went to Renault Roodepoort where we had bought the car, to ask for their assistance,” Uthmaan said.

Once there, the dealership’s service manager, André, immediately agreed to help them. After removing the panels they finally had the adventurous feline in sight, but still he refused to be taken out of the tight space, holding on to the sides of the radio space for dear life.

About half an hour and many tears later Uthmaan eventually got to hold the kitten in his arms once again. Luckily cats have a few lives to spare!

“After getting to know him a bit better, I can already tell you that he’s a cheeky one. He likes attention, and he very clearly likes small spaces. Every time I’m looking for him, chances are that I’ll find him in a tight space,” he said.

Despite various interesting and unique suggestions on what this little fella should be called, Uthmaan decided on Kit.

Now you know the story of the Cat in the Dash. Needless to say the boy and his kitten will live happily ever after.