Colder weather doesn't only move human beings to seek warmer surroundings, but animals, too. That includes cats who sometimes seek engine warmth beneath the hood of your car. Judy Hughes is cat intake director for Portage Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).

"Lots of times cats that are cold will crawl up inside to get out of the elements if you've just stopped your car and the engine's warm," explains Hughes. "And then, if you start up your car and take off, they can be severely injured, burnt, or dropped down and run over. So, we highly promote that when you get in the car, bang the hood. That should scare them off."

She says a coworker arrived at work just a few days ago only to learn a cat had been under his hood, and sadly didn't survive due to burns. Hughes notes sometimes cats are transported to another location in such a situation where they're then released,  and thereby lost their familiar surroundings and homes. She adds a friend once visited her from the country. When the car pulled away to go back home, a cat was left behind, away from its home. Fortunately, Hughes knew the cat's owner and was able to return it. She acknowledges it's better for them to be merely lost rather than hurt.

Hughes notes local construction companies have found kittens curled up inside the hoods of their large trucks, and had a tremendous job to retrieve the animal, which fortunately turned out to be unharmed.

She says you should insist on making a habit of pounding your hood to scare away any sheltered cats that might be there whenever you prepare to drive your vehicle.