BRUNSWICK — February was the second-coldest month on record, the National Weather Service in Gray reported Sunday, and not only for those of us bundled in boots and down parkas.

On a subzero evening, the wheel well or engine of a recently-revving Subaru may offer just enough warmth to attract a cat or other small animal. It could be a deadly choice, though, should the creature still be sound asleep when the car is started again.

On Feb. 18, a local animal control officer was called to a home in Rush’s Trailer Park off Old Bath Road for a report of a stray cat. When the tabby cat arrived at Coastal Humane Society, staff found the cat wasn’t just lost — it had been seriously injured, likely by the fan belt of a car engine.

The wound, which covers more than 40 percent of the cat’s hind quarters, was several days old and infected, according to Dr. Mandie Wehr, director of operations and veterinarian at the shelter.

“We basically decided that under the circumstances, we were going to provide him with care and look for his owners as we went along,” Wehr said Sunday. The cat underwent its first surgery that day.

Wehr said the skin was badly burned — likely from a fan belt — and the tissue beneath it was damaged and dying.

“We knew we weren’t going to be able to close the wound,” she said. But the staff was determined to save the cat, and named him Frederick — or Fred — “because he looks like a Frederick,” Wehr said.

A second surgery followed on Friday, and Fred has hydrotherapy daily to help him heal. With antibiotics and painkillers, the cost of saving Fred to date is nearing $1,000. He may require additional surgeries, according to Wehr, but at this point, she remains “cautiously optimistic” about Fred’s odds.

Wehr said a sad injury like Fred’s as an opportunity to remind drivers to knock on their car a few times before starting it up in such cold weather.

Fred has survived the injuries, and the infection has cleared.

“He’s doing very well,” Wehr said.

Meanwhile, because Fred wore no collar and no microchip was found, staff has checked with the animal control officer and combed classified ads and Craig’s List, as well as the Facebook page Maine Lost Cat Recovery, hoping to find someone who looking for their young adult male, unneutered cat, who has so far charmed his caretakers at Coastal Humane Society.

Anyone with information about who “Fred” may belong to should call the Humane Society at 725-5051.