The female cat with seal points and white mitted feet wandered up to Knoepfler Chevrolet in Sioux City, Iowa, seven weeks ago, cold and hungry. Bill Knoepfler, co-owner of the car dealership, gave her some food, but when Jean Bowman, a General Motors service rep, saw the shivering cat, she asked Knoepfler to provide shelter, too, the Sioux City (Iowa) Journal reports.
Knoepfler agreed, but on one condition — that the cat visited the veterinarian first to make sure she was free of fleas. Bowman whisked the cat off to the vet and came back with the news that the cat was in good health, with no fleas, but was pregnant. “The vet said she’d be having kittens in 10 to 14 days,” Knoepfler told the Journal.
It turns out Knoepfler offered the stray cat shelter just in time. That night, she climbed into an old fender box and gave birth to four kittens.
Seven weeks later, the cat, now named K-Chev, and her family continue to live in the parts department at the dealership. Staff members have become attached to the cats. “We’ve had employees who have brought carriers, beds, toys and treats for the kittens,” Knoepfler said. “They’re pretty precious.”
Those precious kittens soon will go to good homes, but K-Chev will stay at the dealership. “She’s a parts cat,” Knoepfler said.