Kendra Weiser, 13, right, with the kitten after it was rescued from the storm drain. Shelia Weiser, left, was driving past the Giant in Manchester Monday when she saw a kitten walking along the road drop into the storm drain. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- PAUL KUEHNEL)
YORK, PA -- Shelia Weiser rescues stray cats whenever - and however - she can, and that includes jumping down a roadside storm drain to catch a calico kitten Monday morning.

Weiser, 46, of East Manchester Township, said she was heading to work when she spotted the kitten slowly making its way along North George Street near the Giant Food Store - vehicles speeding past it - and knew she had to stop.

"I have a big heart for animals so I couldn't just leave it there," she said. "It would've gotten hit; it was so scared."

Weiser, who works in the parts department at Apple BMW, parked her car and walked toward the kitten.

"Luckily, it didn't dart into the road," she said. "It ran down along the road and into the drain. I thought, 'Well, now what am I going to do?'"

She called York County 911, and told the dispatcher she had a non-emergency, but needed help retrieving the kitten. They said they would send a police officer.

Not far from her home, Weiser also called her daughter, Kendra Weiser, 13, told her where she was and asked her to bring a can of cat food.

A Northeastern Regional Police officer arrived, and was able to lift the grate off the storm drain. A man from a landscaping company, who was getting gas nearby, stopped and offered to help find the kitten.

"He went down in the drain; I thought it was very nice of him, but he had to go," Weiser said.

When Kendra arrived with the food, Weiser lowered herself down into the drain. It took a few

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minutes, but she was able to coax the kitten, which she thinks is a female, from where it was hiding.

"I got bit in the finger, but hey, all part of rescuing strays," Weiser said.

Weiser said that over the years, she has made it her passion to do her part in controlling the stray cat population in her area.

"Oh yeah, many, many cats," she said. "We trap them and get them fixed."

Weiser said she had not named the kitten yet, but that "I'm sure my daughter will name it while it's staying with us."

Interested in adopting?

To adopt the kitten, believed to be a 3-4 week-old female, call Shelia Weiser at 717-849-6504.