'Cat in a tree'

Cat in a tree

Comment #50 Tangy Liz (75.164.197.217) -

My 1 year old kitten/cat is stuck in a very tall tree. She has been there for 2 nights and 1 1/2 days! we think she got up there because she was chased by cyotes, Also we live in a forest and she is stuck in a tree in the middle of it, a truck couldnt reach her! HELP We have tried everything!!!

HELP!!! :(

Comment #51 Karen from Ontario -

My cat got stuck in a tree, he was about 40 feet up and it was in a neighbours tree for 2 days. I'm really not too sure that this cat would or could have got down safely on his own.

I recommend that if you are really worried to check out the site that was referenced above: catinatreerescue.com and see if there is someone in your area.

My husband made a last attempt to get the cat, he climbed up the tree and the cat inched toward him. He was able to grab the cat and lower him one branch at a time, since he had to climb down himself. I'm not sure I recommend this because it was probably a little dangerous for him to do this....

Anyway before this last attempt, we called the folks in our area listed on the website mentioned above, they were very nice and willing to come and help. Turns out we didn't need their service.

Good Luck all.

Comment #52 Doug (24.17.179.118) -

Cat rescued: After three nights having a kitten stuck about 40 feet up in a Western Red Cedar tree I devised this rescue. First, I drove my truck under the tree to gain three feet. From the bed of the truck I threw a weighted tennis shoe with an attached 50 foot line of masonry string (any good twine or lightweight, but strong string would do the job), over a lower branch that I had seen the kitten on earlier. Then I attached a good rope to the leader string and pulled the rope up over the branch.

Then, I attached a sizable handled basket to the rope and weighted it with a brick and put a bowl of wet cat food in the basket. I hung a fully extended pruning pole off the basket after I raised it up to the branch. When the cat got into the basket to eat the food, I pulled the basket down. In place of the pole, I could have attached a second rope to the basket. I have left the leader string hanging in the tree, in case I need it another time.

Comment #53 chaechae13 (64.136.26.226) -

my cat is about 3 years old n it was a stray before but when we movd we took the cat with us n he lives in a whole different place but he just went outside 1 morning 2 be nosy n c wat my brother was doing n saw another cat tht ran up the tree so it follwd it but the other cat knew how to get down n climb bac up but my cat didnt so it saw the other cat jump onto the roof n mine just stood there it startd climbing 2 a branch but the branch got thiner n thiner so iclimbd to the top but i couldnt stay cuz i had skool from 8:10 2 2:10 so my brother n i left n when i came bac the was @ the very top i tried cat food my mom doesnt want 2 spend munny 4 the cat 2 com out of the tree n wedont hav bacon now its been ovr 5 hors cuz skool n im freaking out n i cant climb n dont hav any climbing equipment i keep calling his name but he just crys n now he fell asleep on a branch but the reason y im freakin out c hes just about around a kitten hes still young n nevr climbd be4

Comment #54 chaechae13 (64.136.26.226) -

plez help me i dont know if any 1 can com ovr to get the cat but give me a site to find supplies or ladders or something this cat means the world to me n i luv him contact me @ wardchante@yahoo.com n tell me if u write me at my website cuz i rrely check write me as soon as u read this

Comment #55 Bluekat from Wisconsin -

A cat will stay up in a tree for days. Scared to death & meowing loudly.

A tree surgeon with a bucket truck might get it down for you, but they charge about $100 per hour.

You can put extensions together, lightweight piping, & attempt to knock it out of the tree. A sack or fishing net on end of pole may allow you to net the cat & bring it down slowly. If you knock the cat out of a tree, it will catch on the limbs coming down, which breaks the fall. Most likly it won't be injured, but if there is nothing to break the fall, it may be injured.

Generally speaking, once a cat has been in a tree for 3 days, & you knock it down, you'll never have to worry about it going near a tree again.

Comment #56 Liberty (207.118.13.51) -

My new kitten is stuck in a realllly tall tree too, probably the same as the 150 you're talking about. :[ I can hear him crying. I don't know what to do. :[

• www.myspace.com/23008093

Comment #57 Shavaun (71.236.230.165) -

Welp my cat is currently in a tree and it is across the street in a park. I hope he can make it down.

PS I called the Fire Dept.

No Such LucK!

Comment #58 Julie (61.69.191.202) -

Thanks to comment #18 from Dawn!

Our kitten got stuck up a tree last night and was up there for 12 hours overnight. My son and I searched the internet for ways to get him down as the ladder was not high enough and it was too dark to see.

We decided to go to bed and see if he would come down by himself, otherwise we would call someone in the morning. I was woken at 7am by my 11 yr old son and our kitten! He had remembered the tip about the washing basket and rope, and had tied (very thin) wool to our basket (which had food in it), threw it over a high branch, and raised it up. He said the cat almost fell but managed to get inside the basket as he lowered it down.

My son got a fair few scratches from branches as he had to try several times, but apart from that he and the cat are okay!

Thanks dawn!

Comment #59 Di (67.237.112.217) -

My 5 month old kitten climbed a very tall pinetree to the lowest limb, about 40 foot high, and would not come down. My husband got on the internet for some ideas and this is what we did. We had a 50 foot rope and tied it to a bottle of water and tried to toss it over the limb, didn't work. Used a fishing reel with a small lead sinker and tossed it over and tied it to one end of the rope and a laundry basket to the other end and pulled it right up to my cat, it only took him about 5 min to decide to get in the basket and I quickly lowered the basket to the ground. Worked like a charm.

Comment #60 Jessica (75.53.96.29) -

...Don't knock your cat out of the tree. Terrible!

A few years ago my cat dragged herself to the door, blood coming from her nose, ears, eyes, barely breathing. She fell out of a tree, or got hit by a car, and nearly died, and put me out hundreds of dollars. It's terrible to watch the cat sit in a tree for days (...as I'm doing now)... but knock it out? Give me a break.

Comment #61 Steve Cory (66.31.214.44) -

It worked!

The rope over a branch tied to a basket with food rescued a 5 month old kitten from a 25 foot high tree branch after 24 hours in the tree.

The rope was a soft, almost silky type, which kept it from binding on the bark and made it slide easily. The basket was a plastic laundry basket with a short piece of rope tied to four points of the basket to keep it level and stable. The main rope was tied to the middle of the short rope so that it was centered over the basket.

A towel was placed in the bottom of the basket to give the kitten a feeling of security. A heavy bowl (to keep it from tipping) of food was placed in a corner.

To get the rope over the branch, one end was tied to a large roll of duct tape (heavy enough to throw, but soft so as not to hurt anyone on the ground from a bad throw, nor to hurt the cat sitting on the same branch). It only took 6 tosses to get the rope over the branch. The basket pulled up easily. The kitten was actually playing with the rope as it moved (even though it cried all the time it was up there, I don't think it was scared, just bored and hungry!).

It took about 5 minutes for the kitten to crawl down into the basket now hanging just below the branch. At first, when the basket moved as he was trying to climb in (meowing all the time) the kitten scrambled back onto the branch. But with coaxing calls from its 12 year old female owner and some testing by the cat, he finally crawled right into the basket and began to eat. The basket was slowly lowered to the ground and the cat never stopped eating all the way.

I think the fact that he had been there for over 24 hours and was surely very, very hungry, helped in coaxing him with the food. He was apparently NOT dehydrated (he ate a lot of food after the rescue but was not interested in water) as it had rained overnight and he was seen licking moisture off the twigs and leaves. It was fortunate that the weather was relatively warm (mid 40's overnight, 60 in the day).

We were very frustrated when we could find no help: Not the fire department, Animal Control, MSPCA, Animal Hospital, (all the tree service companys were closed for the weekend) - no one would help. The good, caring advice from this forum (not the glib people who don't seem to really love or care about animals - why are they even looking at this site???) gave me the impetus to DO IT MYSELF, 'CAUSE I'M THE ONLY CHANCE THAT KITTEN HAS!

So, as I have read on this forum, I will repeat:

DO NOT GIVE UP!

Comment #62 Doris Palomino (70.146.154.120) -

This is my story in Nashville: I had my kitty Manchita, 10 months old, in the top of a tree during 28 hours (til today), 50 feet high. I saw Manchita trying to find her way back but having trouble doing it. And because she was in a thin branch, it was hard to get her. So I got three times the Fire Department at my place and listened the same: they could not do anything and that she would find her way, so I should just wait.

I tried to called the tree climbers that Dan Kraus suggested in his website but there was no a positive answer (I supposed I would have been lucky if I would live in your same area, Dan). I found three references and made the calls: one of them told me they did not give that service, the second one that called me back after 12 hours told me that they did not have any person available today and they gave another name, where they did not make that service. The third one never called back.

At this time, I have read Steve Cory's comment and a friend of mine has considered climbing the tree and have some friend hang a sheet waiting for Manchita. It was an option that looked better than just waiting. But them my roommie got our handyman and neighbor involved and we did this: The guys throw a rope around the branch so that they would sway Manchita while my roommie and I would wait with a sheet, trying to get her. She got nervous but she lost her balance and caught another branch. The guys kept on moving and, finally, she fell off perfectly inside the sheet thanks to my roommie's ability, 5 feet far from the garden. Thanks God it worked! She is sleeping now and I still wonder why the Fire Department or these tree climbers could not give us the ideas, at least...

Good luck to you!

Comment #63 Emily Goff (204.9.32.4) -

November 17, 2008

Well....my cat was stuck in a tree for the past 5 days....from Tuesday (possibly Wed) until Sunday. She was about 30 feet up and we tried to find a ladder to get her down but didn't have one long enough. From Sat. night to Sunday morning she climbed up another 20 feet. I think it must have been a more comfortable spot since there was one more bough in the tree up there. By Sunday, her meow was very weak. This is the 3rd time in the last month she has gotten up a tree. We were able to reach her with a ladder both of the other time but this tree was about 100 ft tall sweet gum tree. After waiting for her to come down on her own and she didn't after 5 days, I was so afraid she would die after reading this site. WE took drastic measures and CUT the tree down. We took a chance (she would definately die without water a slow lingering death)that she wouldn't die from the fall if we felled the tree as close to a cluster of Kudzu (did you ever think I'd be trankful for Kudzu?) Sure enough, as the tree slowly began to tumble, she climbed to the VERY top and then with no more place to climb, she took a flying LEAP into the patch of Kudzu that spanned across a gully. The kudzu broke her fall and she went on past the kudzu to land in the gully that was full of freshly fallen leaves. She lived through the ordeal but she is so traumatized that we haven't been able to coax her from under the house for 2 days. She has however been eating......The only solution is to keep her indoors I guess. I really hate that because she loves going outside (we are in the country). I love nature and hated to cut the tree but when faced with the alternative, I had to take the chance she would live. I'll remember that leap until the day I die.

Comment #64 Diane Harrington (24.255.237.69) -

I am so sorry for ALL the cats (angels) stuck up in the trees. I fortunately have a cat who is almost 9, and has always been a "roofer", or one that simply loves to get as high up as she can. I love her so much. Don't know what I would do without this precious angel.

I have been reading all these posts and I feel so sad about the innocent angels that can't or simply don't know how to get back down.

Here is a suggestion that possibly MIGHT work. It may seem cold to some but I Do honestly think it could work out. After reading some of these posts, some made me cry. I have never tried this, due to I have never had this problem.

I suggest a simple garden hose with a nozzle attached so you can get the cat wet little by little. Cats can't stand to be sprayed with a simple water bottle. And I would also suggest using a net underneath so they won't fall to the ground. I would bet you could spray your cat down the tree, little by little by little. When my "kittybill" does things she knows not to do , all I have to do is just show her the water bottle, and just spray close to her to show her what might will happen. And I absolutely hate EVEN doing this! But it works.

This is the first time visiting this site and I think it is wonderful! Reason I am here is due to her getting into a fight with a coon or something like that. She had a bump on her leg after this incident. She was also bleeding after this fight just a bit on this leg. Last night was bleeding. Had to hold her down and squeezed this bump a bit and puss came out. Have been treating her with peroxide and triple antibiotic cream.

I am going to start giving her antibiotics next, orally. I just have to find out which one and correct dosage. She is eating fine and not limping.I have antibiotics left over from my illnesses that I save just in case she might need them. She will be fine.

I am curious to see if this spraying cat down works for anybody! Please let me know, if this helps anyone. I sure hope so. It's so sad to hear of a cat dieing in a tree. Good luck to all your little angels! And the "angel parents!

Wonderful website! Will visit again. Thank you so much for reading and listening!

Sincerely, Diane Harrington Topeka, Kansas

Comment #65 Kate (208.59.175.225) -

Many thanks to Dawn and Anita in Big Bear for the basket idea. We tried it this morning and it worked beautifully. Our cat was chased up onto the first branch of a large tree and was stuck about 40 feet off the ground. She was up there all night and it is getting pretty cold around here, so we didn't want to let it go for another day.

When it go light, my husband threw a ball with light-weight string over the branch and used the string to pull a sturdier rope up over the branch. We tied a laundry basket (taking Anita's tip to make sure all four sides are tied so that the basket stays upright and steady) to the rope and placed a towel and some canned cat food (a real treat) inside. After some attempts to get it placed exactly in the right spot -closer to the trunk than on the first few tries - she hopped right in and was gladly lowered to the ground.

Every tree and every cat is different, but this method was definitely a winner for us and 'the cat elevator' provided some pretty amuzing entertainment for the dog walkers this morning.

Cheers,

Kate

Comment #66 Pinky830 (208.61.100.211) -

Arrgh...everything I read says to "climb up the tree and coax them down." Well, that's great if the tree has BRANCHES!! My cat has been 40 feet up in a tree in the woods for 14 hours and is crying his head off. The branch he's on is the bottom branch. I would climb up there if I could, duh! I'm really annoyed at the flippant answers on here like "have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?" I guess I will call an arborist in the morning if he's still there, but I'm going to be miserable overnight thinking of him up there scared.

Comment #67 cowgirl in the sticks from Fort White Florida -

(Un) Lucky Kitty gets Lucky

On Fri Dec 5 about 10 pm one of my cats escaped from their enclosure. I live in the woods so I have to keep them in a big pen 16' high by 30' by 30'. One of my dogs chased it into a tree , an oak tree in a sinkhole the tree is about 90 to 100 ft tall with a caliper approx 24". It is surrounded by other trees . I didnt relieze it until the next morning that it was still up there. I was'nt concerned because i believed it would come down. Well Sat passed and so did Sunday. Monday came around I went to work knowing it would be down when I got home . NOPE Tuesday got home from work still there about 35' up. Well I got a sick feeling in my gut and started crying .Tuesday night my daughters boyfriend brought his self climbing deer stand over and got 5' from Lucky and he ran 30' further into the tree.It was about 32 degrees that night Mind you he is crying all those days and nights .Wednesday night still there had a terrible storm with lots of rain and wind next morning Lucky still there.Thursday get home from work Lucky still there I had been trying to coax with food this whole time . Friday at work I typed in CAT IN A TREE and well what a life saver I called BEN THOMPSON who lives about 40 miles from me (Gainesville)he is listed on DAN'S website as a rescuer BEN was a really nice guy he returned my call but was on vacation and would not be home until Sunday night.

WE had already called fire dept NOPE CANT HELP.I was at my wits end Friday after work my nieghbor came over and said there is cat in your tree i started laughing dont i know it. We were trying to figure out different ways It is really dark out here so little can be done at night. And i did'nt want a person to be hurt. It was about 32 degrees FRiday night . I rigged up a basket and got the rod and reel ready to try to throw a line over branch (idea from this site ) tried for an hour this morning which is Sat Dec 13 DAY 8 the fishing line kept gettin caught on the other trees cld Cheyanne's boyfriend asked him to climb back up put a hook and rope as far as he could so i could hoist the basket. I came in the house to get more food was going back out to tell her lets just wait for Brian to get here well low and behold and by the grace of GOD that damn cat came running by me and into the house. She said it had fallin about 50' into a clump of branches on it's feet. It ate and drank and is currently curled up in a chair nice and warm. 8 days in still ok DON'T GIVE UP HOPE Cindy Ft White Fl

Comment #68 leesha (68.220.239.124) -

My cat has been up in tree for 1 1/2 days last night and up there tonight. It is 9:30 PM 30 degrees and I am just sick worrying about her. She is crying and will not come down on her own. It is Jan.10, 2009. Fire department will not come. The only vet open said wait and she will come down on her own. After reading all the stories similar to mine on this website I am now very worried. She is used to the good life on the inside and seldom goes out. She is approx. 50 to 70 feet up.

I am trying the basker idea tomorrow. Cannot affort tree service.

Please someone assure me she will be OK?

Leesha in Alabama

Comment #69 Julie Smith (64.234.43.204) -

Well, I have a happy ending to my story. I live in Tyler, TX and Smokey (8 mo old grey tabby male) got ran up an oak tree in a neighbor's yard. They noticed him on Sunday and tried to get him down with a pool skimmer. Thier neighbor called the fire department, and they did come out, but thier ladder was too short and the yard has a fence around it so the truck couldn't get in to use the truck ladder as Smokey was about 60 ft up in the tree.

All the while, I was calling for him every time I went outside (I have a cat door and cats being gone for 2 or 3 days is a common occurance), not knowing he was in a neighbor's tree (the neighbors live about 5 houses down from me). Finally, on Thurs night, I got worried and walked the block...low and behold, there was my cat...we tried the skimmer trick again to no avail. I sadly went home, searched the web, read all this post and decided to try the laundry basket idea in the morning.

I bought a good-sized basket and tied short ropes to all four corners (for stability) put a favorite blanky and a can of tuna in it and then got it up the tree....he acted really interested but he wanted to put his feet on the edge, which was a little shaky...he never had the guts to "jump in", no matter how much I reassured him :) I then made a "cat ladder" out of 2x2s and thin wood but couldn't get it long enough for me to be able to lift and also be better than a 45 degree angle (from a roof about 15ft from the tree). I think either solution might've worked with another cat, but not my scaredy cat.

Desperate, I called numerous tree-trimmers and finally found one that said he would try. This man, Mr Garcia, with his son and grandson came out when it was almost dark and we discussed different ways to get the cat down. He climbed the tree with rope and spikes, got close to Smokey (Smokey is very friendly) and tried to coax him into the laundry basket, holding it firmly. Smokey wasn't having anything to do with that basket; so finally, Mr Garcia pulled up his safety rope, put a noose in it, got it around the cat's neck and one front leg and whoosh, dropped him smoothly down. Must've been quite a ride for Smokey, kinda like the Superman at Six Flags :) Not the most comfortable way to get down, but after at least 5 days in a tree, I'm thinking he was grateful. Anyway, I want, SO VERY MUCH, to thank Mr Garcia and family and all the neighbors who tried to help and who cheered very loudly when Smokey was finally rescued. Me and my daughter are eternally grateful.

Good luck to cat friends everywhere who are trying to coax your kitty's down. I can honestly say that Smokey would've stayed in that tree until he died, it was a well spent $125 (and yes, that is a ton of money for me). I have a number of cats and some are very good at climbing down backwards and some will climb down frontwards (very fast) and "fly" down the last 20 ft or so. But some kittys, like our Smokey, are just too scared to do either.

Sincerely,

Julie Smith

Tyler, TX

Comment #70 sarah (68.230.171.42) -

cats will not always come down. my was stuck in a tree for 8 days. i had to call a tree service to get her down. she was all bony when we got her down :(. they wont always come down on their own

Comment #71 Megan from -

I wanted to thank everyone for their tips for getting a cat down out of a tree. My cat got out about 4 days ago and we just found her last night in a tree. I had heard meowing the last few days, but just didn't think about it. She was about 60 feet up. I saw on the posts that people called tree-trimming services. Just got out the phone book and started going down the list. It ended up costing $100, but I can't imagine just watching her starve to death. I figure after four days of no food or water, she would've come down by now if she was going to. I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has posted tips, they were very helpful!!!!

Comment #72 Carol (67.190.253.196) -

Yes!!! The basket trick worked! We put wet food in a laundry basket.Smeared some on the rim. Tied a rope to a heavy rubber ball. got it around the limb and hoisted the basket up, once she went in we quickly lowered it and she jumped off about 8ft from the ground. She was up there for about 2 days.

Thanks y'all!!!

Comment #73 Walt (65.207.31.34) -

Dusty, 6 months, was up an oak about 20' on a thin branch for 1 1/2 days. Low was in 20's so we were worried. Coaxing with talk, food and treats didn't work. She wouldn't move from the spot, just meowed pitifully.

Using a pruning pole I was able to grab the limb and shake her loose. I'm sure this was scary for her, but only thing I could think of. My neighbor caught her in his jacket.

After coming down she wouldn't eat or drink much, just slept for all of one day. 2nd day she started eating and drinking. 3rd day she was back to normal.

Hope this never happens again; very helpless feeling not knowing what to do and worried. Will try the basket trick if it does happen again. Lots of good information here.

Thanks to all who posted.

Comment #74 melecia (71.202.246.169) -

our 5 month old kitten went into the tree and got stuck but it was only 20 feet high at most. then i tried to climb the tree cause i used to climb trees when i was little. those days were over! haha, im not so fearless anymore! all of a sudden my chihuahua climbed the tree! the trunk has a slight slant in the beginning and a few things to get hold of with your feet. it was crazy! i think at that point we were only 6 feet high but he got into my lap, i was so mad at him for endangering himself. so i got him down safe and then i was scared to jump and almost punctured my hand on a nail. however huckerby was still stuck in the tree. then my boyfriend got home and we borrowed a ladder from our neighbor and argued cause i wanted to climb it but he didnt want me to get hurt, and he didnt want to climb because he was scared of heights. finally 4 and a half hours later our neighbor came over she got our across-the-street neighbor over, a young latino, he was totally fearless and glided up the ladder just the way i had it earlier and before i had a chance to tell him i should secure it more, then he raced up into the tree. hucky didnt want to trust at first and tried to go up more but there wasnt anything left to go up. hucky dug his claws into the boy, the neighbor girl told him to grab him by the neck, hucky froze. oh i forgot to tell u, the neighbor girl's mom climbed up, crazy latina with bleach blonde hair! hahah, now i had two neighbors and a cat in my tree! they all got down and it was like it wasnt no thang.

i love my neighborhood! everyone pitched in. my question is...

what would a good thank you gift be?

i need one for the boy who rescued, looked like he was 15-17

and one for the girl and her mom

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