Kitten rescued after hitching a ride under hood of car

FAIR LAWN, N.J. (PIX11) -- A New Jersey teacher received a scare on her way to work Monday - a meowing sound coming from the underside of her Honda Odyssey.

PIX11 reports: English teacher Pam Haug pulled in to the parking lot of Thomas Jefferson Middle School and flagged down Vice Principal Dominick Tarquinio.

"She wasn't sure if she had run over a cat, she said, 'I'm hearing some meowing sounds from the front of my car and I'm too afraid to look,'" Tarquinio said. Haug, who had a first period class to teach, left the vice principal with her car keys and ran to the classroom.

At first Tarquinio couldn't hear anything, but then there was a soft meow.

"I unlatched the hood of the vehicle and there was this cute little button face sitting behind the engine block."

It took Tarquinio about 15 minutes to coax the black fur ball into his arms, and then took him to his office.

"I gave him some water and he ran around a bit," he said, adding that the student Animal Club had a "blast" with the unexpected feline hitchhiker, who they nicknamed "Midnight."

Haug decided to adopt the kitten, who appears to be in good health.

Check out raw footage of the rescue here:

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