A cat may be down to eight lives after surviving an ordeal that saw it trapped in an engine.

Miracle moggie Otis survived a terrifying dual-carriageway journey trapped between a red-hot engine and the body of a car.

Otis is thought to have hidden in the Mazda 2 for warmth and become stuck under the hood, said pet owner Chloe Jessica Kirk.

The owner of the car then drove from William Street down the A249 to Stockbury roundabout before it broke down on October 28.

Staff at the Chalkwell Garage, Chalkwell Road, Sittingbourne opened the bonnet and found the frightened feline wrapped around the motor.

Mechanic Rob Cooke, from Greek Cottages, Eastling said: “I had never seen anything like it before, all I saw was a pair of eyes staring back at me when I was checking the car.”

The 22-year-old described the scene as horrific, saying it looked like that cat had been caught be the auxiliary belt.

“There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for him, the next thing we’ll have to do is start to scrimp and cut back on the wedding" - Chloe

“We were still sweeping up fur two days later because it had covered the car and garage,” he said.

Nurses from the nearby Borden Lane veterinary surgery rushed to rescue the cat who had sustained life threatening injuries.

Veterinary nurse Laura Simpson said: “It was the first cat I’ve seen come out alive from an engine, and I’d say he lost quite a lot of his nine lives on this one.”

One-year-old Otis was doubly fortunate because he was microchipped so the vets could quickly contact his owners and tell them what had happened.

The little black cat received emergency treatment after more than 20% of its body was covered in burns and cuts.

Ms Simpson said that it was more than likely that Otis’s front leg would be amputated due to the extent of his injuries.

Distraught owner Chloe, of William Street, failed to get pet insurance and is now appealing to the public to help pay for the cat’s surgery.

“Unfortunately we never thought we needed insurance because Otis was always a house cat, it may have been a bit naive of us but we’re ending up regretting that decision.”

Costs for the treatment are adding up quickly with the initial emergency work costing more than £600 and a further operation which is expected to bring the bill up to £1,000.

The 22-year-old is currently in the process of moving with her fiancé Josh and planning her wedding next year, but may have to cut back on what's being planned if she can’t raise the funds.

“There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for him, the next thing we’ll have to do is start to scrimp and cut back on the wedding, which is hard because we’ve already put down deposits,” she said.

Otis currently relies on powerful pain medication to get him through the day but Chloe fears he may get worse if he doesn’t have the surgery soon.

“There are points in the day where he’s getting adventurous and I worry because of his injuries so I have to watch him closely so he doesn’t damage himself further.”

You can help Otis here.