Cat Hitches Car Ride On The Sly, Surprising Family

Written by: Kelli Brinegar
For more than five years, Kelli Brinegar has been using her ability to write and her passion for research to tell the tale of what cats are thinking and why. She has provided care to more than 30 cats in her lifetime.Read more
| Published on March 19, 2020

Mornings are crazy enough when trying to get kids ready and off to school, but when a surprise rider makes an appearance in traffic, things get really wild.

Like any other morning, Melina Marama Waite dropped off two of her kids at daycare and headed next for her 9-year-old daughter’s  school. The pair were stopped in traffic when a dark blur leaped onto the car’s dashboard. It took Melina a second to realize it was a cat standing in front of her.

“We stopped behind some cars at an intersection then all of a sudden a little cat climbed on the dashboard,” said Melina. “It was a complete shock, I didn’t know what to do.”

But her mom instinct kicked into gear quickly.

“When the traffic moved I started moving and the cat slipped and panicked and tried to grab the rearview mirror and my daughter freaked out.”


Melina Marama Waite/Facebook

“I tried to grab the cat then it fell and ran to the back of the car somewhere.”

With the black cat hiding somewhere in the car, Melina and her daughter drove home. On thinking about where the cat could have come from, it dawned on her she’d seen this guy before. He’d been hanging around outside her house and all she could figure was the cat slipped into the car during the family’s morning dash for departure.

Arriving at home, Melina and her daughter tried to catch the confused kitty, but he bolted from the car.

Melina figured that was the end of the episode and the cat was probably long gone. Truly, she wanted to do more for the cat, but as cats are wont to do, he was gone.


Melina Marama Waite/Facebook

Dash and Return

But, the little boy must have thought Melina and her family were pretty alright. He showed up at her house the next morning and had some breakfast. Wanting the cat to come back again, Melina picked up some “stinky, wet food” according to a Facebook comment, and guess who came to breakfast again the next day.


Melina Marama Waite/Facebook

Melina reported, “He came back for breakfast the next day and every day after that.”

With a food connection established, she worked on getting closer to the wild boy and thanks to a humane trap on loan from a cat rescue group, Melina successfully caught him.


Melina Marama Waite/Facebook

Now, Dash the cat, “a mildly spicy burrito” has moved inside the house!


Melina Marama Waite/Facebook

Dash will soon visit the vet where he’ll be looked over for issues and neutered. Melina also wants him scanned for a microchip in case Dash has a family out there missing him. If he’s a stray guy, then purrhaps Dash has found his forever home after his wild ride.

H/T: www.thedodo.com
Feature Image:  Melina Marama Waite/Facebook