The Cat in the Tree - Updated Info !!

It's nice of you to want to rescue a cat stuck in a tree, even if you hate cats, but when you say, how would you like to be stuck in a tree, it's like saying, it's essential that all cats stuck in trees be rescued, and a cat is just as valuable as a human, which it's not.

Amen to that! I couldn't agree with your post more. I just don't understand why even a tv news station would even broadcast a story like this and waste the airwaves in this day and age, like a local tv channel did this morning in my area.

DITTO Local 51 (LOL)

"Have you ever scene a cat skeleton in a tree???" SERIOUSLY??!? THAT is your "thought" process? I use the term "thought" loosely here because it seems to me you're not very capable of making a logical thought. Let's try to break it down, shall we? Your logic is that the cat will eventually come down because no one has ever seen (and by the way, moron, it's "SEEN", not scene...one's a noun, one's a verb...look it up and learn how to speak and write in coherent English) a cat skeleton in a tree. Pay real close attention now, because I'm about to really try and stretch that brain of yours.... If a human was trapped in an impossible situation, say trapped real high somewhere - let's say, A TREE - and no one tried to help them...that person would begin to waste away through hunger and dehydration. If it goes on long enough, the human will die. Would you see the skeleton in the tree? NO. Once the grasp around the branch is loosened enough, gravity kicks in and the remains fall to the ground. All creatures have a survival instinct. That instinct is so powerful that it can absolutely override hunger pains. Not always, but yes, it most certainly can. That height is a helluva jump. Just like the cat who recently found itself on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge and wound up committing suicide, this situation has the potential to be real ugly and painful for not only the poor cat but also for pet owners and lovers of animals like myself. Those of you who believe in God like I do know that He gave us control over the animals. It IS our responsibility to look after animals. Allowing animals to suffer is barbaric and disgusting, and it most certainly is NOT why God gave us that power.

That's the dumbest thing I've ever read. You've never "scene" (it's "seen" you idiot, did you pass 3rd grade?) a cat skeleton in a tree, therefore cats don't die from being stranded in trees? Here's some elementary logic for you: When a stranded cat gets weaker and weaker from a lack of food and the heat/cold, they lay down and slowly die; after dying, they tend to fall out of the tree. You don't exactly retain your balance postmortem. For some more in-depth detail, you should know that there's no way a cat would have time to decompose on a tree branch. Squirrels keep their roaming areas very tidy, birds would pick at the dead cat's body, wind would blow it out of the tree, etc., etc. There's no way you would find a "cat skeleton in a tree" given the external elemental factors and the amount of time it would take for the cat to actually decompose that far. Plenty of cats have died from being stranded in trees; others die from finally reaching a point of desperation and jumping, but are too weak to survive the fall. This cat was FIFTY FEET UP IN THE AIR. Too much longer being in the tree and the cat's liver would've started failing (look up hepatic lipidosis genius), and he would've died. Luckily (and not to ruin WWAY's story here), the cat was rescued around 2PM by a local professional tree-climber.

Blast him with a water hose, he'll come down.

It doesnt matter how often you call the police or fire department and threatening to contacting the media won't help either. They are not going to "rescue" a cat from a tree. No police/fire dept in this entire country would respond. Also the agencies in this county are very busy and they can not take resources away from TRUE emergencies. Place a bowl of food and water (or milk) at the base of the tree, and leave it alone. The cat will come down.

I wish that it was as simple as repeatedly calling the agencies you mentioned. Unfortunately, I work for one of those agencies, and I can assure you that none - mine included - are actually allowed to do what is being suggested for this poor cat. Yes, I feel for the cat. I really do. To the idiots who posted "have you ever seen (not SCENE, you moron) a cat skeleton in a tree?" you are a symptom of what is wrong in this country today. There is no value for life, from the smallest to the grandest. No big deal to kill a few animals for sport, is it? Then no big deal to kill a person, right? So we give that murderer a few years in jail. When the mass murdering father kills his kids and then himself, we simply say awww, too bad. Trust me, folks....lack of respect for life begins somewhere, and escalates. Those who say "It's just a cat" have already started down that path where the ultimate result is life in any form has no value. You're right that public pressure can be extremely effective. Unfortunately, it also usually takes quite a long time. To a small domesticated animal that is subjected to the elements and denied food and water, time is NOT a friend. Time is quite simply not something this cat has a lot of right now. Now...what I CAN tell you is that my agency has helped in the past with similar situations...only it never went on the record. I can't give specifics for obvious reasons, but if you bear with me and read closely, you'll walk away from this post knowing what to do and who to call. First, DO NOT call the "main" number. What do I mean by that? Think of it this way: Let's say there's a group of people whose help you want, only they don't come out unless someone from some other location calls them and lets them know that someone needs them. That centralized agency is great for gathering information, but it's bad for keeping all sorts of records. The people you want to come help you can, but the people who tell them where to go can't authorize it. So...don't call the "main number" for the centralized agency that alerts the agency you REALLY want to come help you in this instance. CALL THE ONES YOU WANT DIRECT. Make sure you call the right one...there's NUMEROUS groups in the CITY (hint) and in the COUNTY (hint) and their individual numbers aren't always easy to find in the phone book. Suggestion: Google a search for the overall CITY (hint) or COUNTY (hint) and you will find the individual "companies" and their locations and phone numbers. DO NOT call during what would normally be considered "sleeping" hours. Call during normal business hours. They're all manned. Explain to them what has happened and ask if they can help. They will most likely tell you they need to speak with a higher-up, a "chief", if you will, and then call you back. They can then go out into their "district" and help this animal, and it never needs to get noted on the books. I can also tell you that if you live in the COUNTY (hint) you will probably stand a better chance of getting citizen assistance of this sort, but don't give up if you live in the CITY. After all, those of us that do this job do it because we have hearts, and we value life - in all forms. We may not necessarily want the insurance companies to know that we used certain gear and equipment to rescue a kitty, and it's certainly not something we want to broadcast over, say, the RADIO (hint), but we can - and more importantly, HAVE - done it before. Oh, and to the other idiot who wrote that when the cat gets hungry enough it will come down out of the tree....SERIOUSLY??!? Cat's been there for over three days....I GUARANTEE YOU THAT THE ANIMAL IS HUNGRY. He's also terrified. Just like you, the animal has a survival instinct that outweighs the hunger pain. Eventually, the cat will weaken enough from hunger and dehydration. THAT is unacceptable, folks! The Old Testament tells us that God gave us dominion over all the animals of this earth. With that power comes responsibility. God also told us in those same scriptures that we are not to let any beast suffer needlessly. I wish you lived in my district. I'd be there in 10 minutes to help get the animal down. Please take what I've given you here and use it...look up the right number, and CALL.

As a firefighter and a cat lover, I have mixed feelings about this. I would love to help a stranded cat, but there is a reason firefighters don't rescue cats anymore. It is dangerous. Even though it may look easy and routine for us to climb a ladder, everything a firefighter does involves risk. I couldn't see a chief allowing use of a ladder truck and a crew for this. Yes, we risk our lives for the people in our community, but we have to put safety first. Trust me, the cat will come down. Also, isn't there a billboard on Carolina Beach Rd for a tree company that says "Kitty cats rescued?"

You can't be serious?? Keep calling animal control, fire department and police about a cat in the tree??? Brilliant idea!! Tie up the 911 centers EMERGENCY and non emergency lines for a cat stuck in a tree. Send the fire department out with their big trucks that suck up a lot of gas for a cat in a tree, way to waste city resources. And really, call the police? What do you want them to do shoot it out of the tree? Put a can of tuna out it will come down when it gets hungry. It got up there, it CAN come back down. Just leave it alone.

So you want to take a firetruck and the firemen that work on that truck out of service so they can get a cat out of the tree?????? Yeah so that the house that is on fire can burn down because these FIREmen were up a tree? i dont think so. I agree with everyone else just let it be. you below it calling after it is why it will not come down, its scared of YOU. Stop and it will come down. Yeah and lets see how much air time this will get from CNN, FOX news, MSNBC. If they get any it is only a sign of how sad it has got in the news business.