A tiny orange and white kitten briefly halted traffic on a motorway in Auckland, New Zealand, before being rescued by police.

"A concerned member of the public reported that a small orange and white ball of fluff was trying its hardest to cause several accidents on the South-Western motorway," Auckland City District Police said in a posting on their Facebook page on Wednesday (Jan 3).

Police found the kitten huddled against a motorway concrete barrier.

She was named Maioro, after the closest motorway off-ramp from which she was rescued.

According to the police Facebook page, the kitten's rescue turned out to be a major challenge.

"Unfortunately she was spooked by the approaching Officer and quickly bolted across three lanes of live traffic, narrowly avoiding the worst," the post says.

"Now trapped on a small central strip she required the motorway to be temporarily blocked and after a short game of cat and mouse was safely inside the officer's patrol vehicle."

But that was not the end of the tale.

While the officer was making a call, the frightened kitten decided to crawl up inside the dashboard. Next stop was the local mechanics shop, where the car's dashboard had to be removed to free the kitten.

According to police, Maioro is "recovering well from her adventures" and they are hopeful she will find a new home soon.