WESTPORT — Persistence paid off Tuesday after a days-long effort to rescue a mother cat and her kittens trapped under a Post Road storm drain’s grate.

The feline family eluded efforts last weekend to free them, which were coordinated by volunteers from Westport Animal Shelter Advocates, with help from Westport firefighters and animal control officer.

But one of the five kittens — which appears to be a calico — was rescued from the drain after it was lured into a trap beneath the grate, according to a Tuesday post on the Fire Department’s Facebook page.

In the update, firefighters said, “WASA and Westport firefighters are still working hard to save the remaining four kittens and their mama.”

The cats’ plight was reported Saturday to Animal Control Officer Peter Reid, who sought assistance from WASA and firefighters.

During initial operations to remove the grate by Reid and firefighters Eric LaRiviere and Chris Carroll, the cats fled farther back into the drain pipe and could not be coaxed out.

But the cat-rescuing crew’s perseverance paid off Tuesday when the first of the kittens took the bait and was hoisted to safety.

Firefighters promise more updates in the quest to rescue the rest of the feline family.