Moncton’s John Leet thought he has seen it all come through the bay doors at the dealership where he has worked as a mechanic and foreman for 30 years.
“We’ve found hamsters, garter snakes, squirrels, chipmunks and mice” stuck in the engine of cars that come into the shop, said Leet.
But last Thursday was definitely a first even for him.
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Leet said a customer who had taken a demo truck out as a loaner popped the hood to put in some windshield wash before he returned the truck and got a bit of a fright. The customer found an orange tabby cat tucked in among the heater hoses staring right back at him.
“He was wedged in between the battery and the fire wall,” said Leet, adding that the customer immediately drove the truck to the shop for help.
Leet said the little stowaway traveled more than 80 kilometers between the homes of two different customers wedged up in the engine of the demo truck.
“It’s a cold scary trip for a cat,” he said.
He said the kitty must have been comfy because prying him out was a bit of a chore.
“As hard as he was shivering and shaking when I climbed up in there I would say he was pretty scared,” said Leet.
Mechanic Matthew Vautour said he tried to give Leet a hand removing the cat from the engine.
“I was trying to push the cat out from the bottom when he was trying to pull it up so it was kinda weird,” said Vautour.
Leet said they had no idea who owned the little traveler. So, once they finally managed to get him free, they posted the cat’s picture to Facebook hoping to find its owner.
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He said it didn’t take long for the cat’s owner, Melissa MacCallum, to claim her little hitchhiker named Weaver who had climbed into the engine of the truck when she had borrowed it from the dealership the night before.
MacCallum told Global News that Weaver is doing well, and except for a bit of a cold and a mild burn on his foot he’s back home safe and sound.
Leet says Weaver likely used up a few lives on his adventure.