2-Pound Animal Saved From Storm Sewer Drain After 90 Minutes

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. -- It took two fire trucks, five firefighters, several
animal rescuers and about 250 gallons of water to rescue a 2-pound kitten.

Animal control officers tried coaxing the gray tabby out of a storm sewer
drain with encouraging words and food Monday before giving up after about an
hour and a half.

Firefighters tried banging tools on one end of the pipe and flashing lights
Monday night in hopes of driving him out the other end -- but that didn't
work either.

It wasn't until firefighters flushed about 250 gallons of water through the
10- to 12-inch pipe -- enough to wet the kitten's paws -- and the feline
rushed into the hands of Firefighter Kevin Siers, who was standing inside a
manhole.

"We had about an hour and a half of fun," Siers said Tuesday. "Everybody was
pretty tickled" when the cat emerged.

After a very frightening day and night, the kitten seemed more relaxed and
was warming up to humans, said Dan Hendrickson with the Humane Society of
Parkersburg.