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Cats stuck in trees can seem quite funny, but at the same time dangerous for both the cat and potential rescuer. The problem with cats is that they are very good at climbing UP trees, but getting DOWN is much harder. They also tend to climb as high as they can before they realize they’re stuck. They could be trapped as high as 70 ft or more, which is much too high for their poor owners to help them if they value their lives. This is why a professional is called.
When your cat gets stuck 30 ft in a tree, who are you going to call? The fire department prioritizes people for emergencies, and so they are often not available to help a stranded cat. As arborists, we have rope skills and training that allows us to work at height safely. Normally we climb trees to remove dead or diseased limbs. Occasionally though, our skills are required for cat rescue.
Our own cat, Mr. Whiskers, is quite the climber. Like most cats though, he is not skilled at downclimbing. Normally he stays inside, but occasionally he gets out and manages to scramble up our Catalpas to prolong his outdoor time. This happened earlier this morning, luckily before Tim left for work. I watched him climb around the canopy for a while, trying to coax him down, but he seemed content. After watching a bold squirrel climb up to within a foot of him, I realized what the squirrel already knew, he must be stuck. After finishing his coffee, Tim got out his ropes and harness and started up the tree. The cat was only about 15-20 ft high, but still a fall from that height can be dangerous. Tim secured himself to the tree with a lanyard so he could free his hands and reach the cat. Mr. Whiskers was a bit scared at first, and the claws came out, but once he was held safely, he was quite happy to be rescued!
The take-away message from this success story is:
Never try any tree-climbing at home, even for a cat rescue, because a fall from even 10 ft can be damaging.
