Mike Kerkman drove 45 miles to get his oil changed.
When he got there, "They opened up the hood and there was a cat with its head sticking through a little hole," he said.
The cat had gotten stuck in a hole under the hood, by the washer fluid.
"He was scared. He was almost like choking. His head was the only thing that could get through that hole," said Bob Rorich, a service technician at Norfolk GM Auto Center.
Operation "Kitty Rescue" took about 90 minutes. A local vet was able to provide a sedative to make sure the cat got out safely.
"The cat was just in frantic. It was in distress. It needed to relax and calm down, so when in that situation, the best bet is to sedate the cat," said Tabitha Streeter, an employee at the body shop who had previously worked at a vet clinic.
After removing the front bumper, cutting a bigger hole in the metal around the kitty's neck, she was removed from the car.
She's back home now chasing mice.
"I just kept going, 'Oh, what's this going to cost me?' They go, 'Eh don't worry about it!' I walked out of there. I didn't pay anything," Kerkman said.
Norfolk GM workers named the cat Sierra after the type of vehicle she was stuck in.
(Click on Detroit - Mar 29 2013)
