The Humane Society of Mercer County came to the rescue of yet another animal early Wednesday, this time with the help of Wheatland Tube workers.

At about midnight, a man walking along Sharpsville Avenue heard the meows of a cat wailing from a storm drain near Clark Street at Wheatland Tube in Sharon.

The man notified Joe Gould, a Keystone security officer on duty at the time, who in turn notified Sharon police. It was an 8-week-old male kitten that was trapped and "just crying away," said Tammy Riley, a Humane Society volunteer.

"He seems to be very curious. Maybe he got spooked by a car or heard something down there, looked and fell in," she said.

The Humane Society responds 24 hours a day and works completely with volunteers. Police notified Sandi Drabick, the Humane Society's executive director, about the incident and she in turn called Ms. Riley.

Ms. Riley and her fiancé Jerry Rice, also a rescue volunteer, were eating a late dinner at Denny's Restaurant in Hermitage when they received a telephone call about the kitten. Ms. Riley said they dropped everything to get there.

Sharon police allowed rescuers to remove the grate and attempt to recover the kitten. Wheatland Tube employee Carl Holbroke, a fork truck operator, used his truck to remove the grate and later to put it back in place. Rice got into the drain and pushed the kitten across, but it couldn't be retrieved with a slip hook.

Holbroke helped to bend two pieces of steel pipe into a hook and looped the kitten as Paul Nicklin, a general turn foreman, helped to pull a gold and white kitten with gray peering eyes out of the grate.

"We had a lot of help last night," Ms. Drabick said. "It's been a while since we've done a real in-depth rescue such as this from a street sewer. We have had trees, but it's been awhile for storm sewers."

"The people at Wheatland Tube were absolutely fantastic," Ms. Riley added. "Had it rained or been down there for three days, it would have died in the pipe."

The kitten, which is waiting to see a veterinarian, has already found a new home. Gould, the security officer, plans to adopt it.

The Humane Society works from donations. The organization has daily operating expenses, including the cost of veterinary care and van insurance, and is always in need of funding to continue providing services.

Anyone wishing to help can send donations to: Humane Society of Mercer County Inc., Box 1046, Hermitage 16146 or call 724-981-5445.