Thanks to the quick thinking of a Pinehurst Beach family, a frisky feline is alive and well and waiting for someone to adopt him.

Paula Mueller and her family were enjoying dinner on the deck of their Cottage Street home on August 31 when they heard a cat making some noise.

"We saw this yellow cat meowing and we thought he had a bird or something," Mueller recalled.

But the yellow cat did not have a bird. Instead, he was attempting to alert a helpful human about his brother in distress.

In a nearby storm drain, a black stray cat had gotten his head stuck in a grate.

"All we know is he was hanging by his neck," Mueller said. "My husband and my daughter's boyfriend lifted up the storm drain and my daughter grabbed the cat."

The cat was surprisingly calm, Mueller said.

Wareham Fire responded, as did the Animal Control Officer. But neither could free the feline from the 300 pound grate.

So off went the Animal Control Officer, Mueller's daughter, who was still holding the cat, and the storm grate to Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists in Buzzards Bay.

The cat was sedated, removed from the grate, and transported to the Humane Society in Dartmouth, said Wareham Police Lt. Kevin Walsh.

"The cat's OK and it's in Dartmouth!" Walsh said.

Mueller and her daughter returned home to continue packing her daughter's belongings, as she was off to college the next day.

"Instead of packing her, we spent hours saving this cat!" Mueller said with a laugh.

But Mueller said the family is thrilled they were able to help the cat. The family hopes someone will soon adopt him.

"After all that trauma, he should have a home," Mueller said.

A representative from the Humane Society could not immediately be reached for comment. For more information about pet adoption, visit www.hsssc.org.