Pablo's Story: A lucky escape

In August 2023, we had a surprising call from the garage next door to the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home offices. A car had just arrived, and they quickly realised that a small cat was trapped inside the engine.

Fortunately, the car had only been driven a short distance from the owner’s home five minutes away, but poor Pablo was trapped so deep inside the engine and was so terrified, that it seemed impossible to get him out.

Eventually, after hours of unsuccessful coaxing, the mechanics had to practically disassemble the whole engine to reach little Pablo.

As a result of his ordeal, Pablo had minor burns to his paws.

He spent a night at Abercorn vets before coming to stay with us at the Home, where our in-house vet, Bridget kept a close eye on him

Unfortunately, Pablo didn’t have a microchip and we were unable to identify or locate an owner, but we had no worries about finding a new loving home for him as his cheeky personality started to emerge.

As Pablo recovered, he started to come out of his shell.

Kennel Assistant, Fiona, told us, ‘He’s a funny cat, such a cheeky character. He’s very playful and energetic’.

And soon it was time for Pablo to go home.

Lorraine and her family have adopted many beloved pets from Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home over the years. Her last dog, Maisie, passed away five years ago and she has missed having a pet in her home ever since.

She and her son decided it was time to bring home a new member of the family and that’s when they found Pablo. Lorraine told us they were drawn to his big loving eyes and gorgeous black coat.

This was her first time rehoming with our online rehoming process, she told us that she found it ‘a lot better because you get an insight into each animal before you meet them, you get to know them a little ahead of time.’

Since taking Pablo home, Lorraine says ‘it’s like having a toddler in the house, I’m constantly tidying up his cat toys!’.

After a few days of hiding, he started to settle in and make himself at home.

Now he’s quite happy to jump up and walk across the keyboard while Lorraine is working, or cosy in beside them on the couch.

Pablo’s playful personality continues to shine through. Lorraine tells us that he found the cupboard where his food pouches are kept and likes to drag them out and bat them towards his bowl in protest when he wants to be fed.

His favourite things to play with are pens and he loves to jump at people’s feet. When he’s not causing mischief, Pablo is usually found sitting on the windowsill watching people go past.

His curiosity has its limits though, and Lorraine tells us that he’s not interested in exploring outside, perhaps his early misadventures were enough to put him off!