A rambunctious little stowaway has found a fur-ever home after being rescued by local animal lovers in Palmerton last week.

Heather Rogers had just returned from Lehighton to her Franklin Avenue home when she heard some noise coming from the front grate of a neighbor's truck on Friday afternoon."The truck was parked behind my car. I heard the cat, and the sound was coming from the grate of the truck. So I got the neighbor, he opened up the hood, and the cat was sitting on his battery. He jumped off, we played tag for a couple of minutes with the cat, then he ran under my car," Rogers said.At the moment, Rogers was particularly concerned for the safety of the tiny black cat, as the car's engine was still hot."He was meowing the whole six hours, almost. But he would not let anybody get to him. We gave him food, we left him alone, we tried everything," she said.The rescue effort, which drew the attention of the Palmerton Cat Project, animal control and neighbors, took a while, with the kitten sprinting back and forth along the inner expanse of the car. Rogers credits a teenage neighbor with coaxing the cat out of the vehicle with a gentle push. Rogers and two neighbors chased him to the backyard, where he was eventually corralled into her arms."His eyes were crusted shut, but washing them with baby shampoo took care of that," Rogers said. "His paws were all burned, but only one is hurt right now."Originally, Rogers said, the burns weren't as apparent. When they were more visible later on Friday night, though, she knew that he needed help. After all, she had accepted the little guy, who they named Bear, as part of the family by the time her daughter, Allyssa, escorted him into the house.On Saturday morning, Rogers contacted the Palmerton Cat Project, which got the little scamp into an appointment at Forgotten Felines and Fidos in Germansville. Under normal circumstances, the shelter does not take emergency appointments on the weekends, but they made a special exception for Bear."We were in the middle of a meeting when she got in touch with us," Palmerton Cat Project's President, Jessica Schuon, said. "We jumped into action right away. We told her we'd come right away and get him checked out."After some X-rays and bandages on his paws, Bear was released into Rogers' care on Monday evening.Bear is joining a happy cat family, which includes Jackal and Crystal, both from a shelter, and Jinx, who is a rescue."He's fine, he's running around, you can't even tell his paws are burned," Rogers said. "He's a little skittish, but he's playing with our other cats."Rogers is especially thankful for the help of the Palmerton Cat Project for their assistance, who went the extra mile to help a feline in need."They brought him to Forgotten Felines, and they paid for it," she said. "He was in for two days. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been able to get him taken care of. I have so much appreciation for the Palmerton Cat Project."And, of course, the group is happy to lend a hand where they can."We have an opportunity here and there to do things like that, to help a kitten in need," Schuon said. "We also really want to education the community about spay/neuter programs, and how to keep animals healthy. Our advice is free, and we'll help anyone with anything if we can."