Someone at the Swap Shop heard ‘sounds’ coming from a car. Then came the rescue

Having a case of the Mondays? This ought to help.

Another kitten rescue went down in Florida, and this one was off-the-charts sweet.

According to a Sunday tweet from Lauderhill Fire Rescue, first responders turned their attention away from fires and crashes to rescuing a small cat outside the Swap Shop near Fort Lauderdale around 1:30 p.m.

The animal had reportedly become wedged near the engine compartment of a car that was parked outside the popular flea market.

Fire-rescue spokesman Jerry Gonzalez told the Miami Herald on Monday that a concerned bystander heard “sounds” coming from the vehicle and called 911.

Gonzalez says it took the first responders Jack Vandermeulen and Jamal Clarke about 15 to 20 minutes to free the little guy or gal.

One picture shows an adorable, tiny face peering from behind the front grille. Another shows Vandermeulen under the car, lying on the ground, working to free the kitten. His firefighting partner, Clarke, provided the assist.

Success!

The top picture shows Vandermeulen, a huge smile on his face. He holds the freed kitty, who appears to be staring at its hero, as Clarke stands next to it.

The post included the hashtags #notjustfires #lauderhillproud, #lauderhillstrong.

Unlike similar stories we’ve seen about trapped cats recently, this one didn’t end up in foster care and is not being put up for adoption. Gonzalez says the furball was reunited with its owner, who was inside the Swap Shop and had no idea the cat had come along on the trip,

The pet owner told the crew he (and the cat) traveled all the way from Lake Wales in Polk County, roughly 200 miles northwest.

Had the owner started up the engine after shopping, the outcome could have likely been different. Gonzalez said this scenario “could have been bad” for the cat, which may have been burned or caught up in the car’s moving parts. Apparently the cat, whose gender is unknown, wasn’t harmed on the long ride to the flea market.

“It was nothing short of miracle,” Gonzalez said. “It was between the grille and the engine, and was, apparently, in kind of like a safe spot where it didn’t touch the engine directly. It was purring and happy when it came out.”

Seeing cats under cars in Florida is not anything new. Last month, deputies from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office rescued a kitty in the Oviedo area, telling its followers the story with the cheeky headline “CAT-astrophe averted.”

READ MORE: A driver heard a ‘weird noise’ coming from a car. And it was alive