LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — Chuck Petrovich has worked on cars for decades. Last week, he came to work at his shop, Cougar Auto in Peckville, to fix a customer's car. He wasn't prepared for what was under that hood.
"I took it for a test drive for about a mile, brought it in, set it up on the rack, lifted the hood, and then there was this guy staring at me. I was staring at him, and I think we both scared each other," said Chuck Petrovich, Cougar Auto.
It was a cat! Chuck said in his 42 years of working on cars, he'd never found a cat.
Chuck then called his fiance Theresa Sweeney to come to the shop with some food and a cat carrier.
"We thought he was a stray, but he's eaten from us, he's litter trained, he's fine. He's perfect," said Theresa Sweeney.
Chuck and Theresa say they were worried that the cat was missing its family and wanted to find out who he belonged to.
"I was hoping it was the cat's owner whose car I was working on, and it wasn't. We tried everywhere and couldn't find out whose cat it was," said Chuck.
"We've called every place. I called Griffin Pond Animal Shelter, Nay Aug Park, and nobody would take the cat in. We didn't know what to do with the cat," said Theresa.
The cat was checked for a microchip, but he didn't have one.
The couple set up a temporary home for him inside the office of Cougar Auto, and they've nicknamed the cat Cougar.
Chuck says he didn't want to leave Cougar out in the cold.
"He's scared. I'm sure he's missing his home, wherever that may be, but we're doing our best to try and make him comfortable anyway," said Chuck.
Chuck and Theresa are hoping the cat's owners come forward, and if not, they're considering making Cougar a member of their family.
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