A hapless kitten was saved after getting stuck under a car engine in Thailand.

Saman Choodet, 79, heard the moggie crying in front of his car while he was preparing to leave for home in Ratchaburi province on April 4.

Concerned onlookers helped him search for the cat until they found it trapped inside the front bumper of the vehicle.

The pensioner then called the animal rescuers for help after an hour of trying to reach the animal inside without success.

When the volunteers arrived, they tried to lure out the kitten but it was scared and kept hiding way inside the car to avoid being held.

To force the cat near the gaps of the bumper, one of the volunteers scare it from underneath while his colleague waited for the cat to go near space so he could grab it.

After almost an hour, they were able to take the feline from the car and found it was a one-year-old male stray. It was given fresh food and water.

The car owner thanked the rescuers and adopted the cat. He later named it ‘Honda’ after his car where it was rescued.

He said: ‘I didn’t know when or how the kitten got in my car. I didn’t think it entered before I left home because I travelled for almost 40 minutes.

‘I believe it’s a stray cat because it was not wearing any collar. No one came forward to take the cat so I adopted it and named it Honda.’