Two Kings Norton men went above and beyond in a dramatic rescue of a cat from a tree yesterday (Saturday 11th March).
8 days missing
The cat, Smokey, had been reported missing to us at B31 Voices on March 6th, his owner Kerri having not seen him since the 3rd at his home in Ridgemount Drive, Kings Norton.
Spotted in tree
However, yesterday, Pete Cook spotted a cat very high up a tree in nearby Lichen Gardens while he was out walking his dog. Not sure what to do, he sent a picture of the cat to friend Gemma Sidnell who posted it to the Kings Heath Cat Club Facebook group to ask members for help and advice.
Adam Chambers, a KHCC member who lives nearby, spotted her post and went out to investigate. He found the cat… and Pete.
Daring rescue plan
Between them, Pete and Adam inspected the tree – which, to complicate matters further, had a brook at its base – and they came up with the slightly dangerous idea of sending Pete up a triple extended ladder, secured by Adam, to rescue the cat.
Just out of reach…
However, once Pete got to the top, he realised he still couldn’t reach the cat! After descending and popping home for a saw, he climbed back up to the top of ladder and sawed at the branch so the cat came within his reach.
Cat secured, Pete headed down the ladder – a journey little Smokey wasn’t too happy about, hissing and scratching at him all the way!
But as Adam clung to the base of the ladder, Pete persevered and clung to Smokey, managing to bring him to safety and grab a few photos before finally putting him down.
Rescued then ran!
As soon as he was down, Smokey bolted and Adam and Pete and his partner Janet continued to look for him, concerned as to whether he had managed to get home or not.
Luckily Pete’s dog walker, Lisa Murray-Lang of From Wags to Whiskers, contacted us to see if we could post about the rescue and find out if the cat had gone home safely.
We immediately contacted Smokey’s owner to check if he was home and, sure enough, he had returned home not long after the rescue, after 8 days missing!
Lots of cuddles
Smokey’s owner Kerri said: “I can’t believe how much trouble the rescuers went to get him, you really are amazing! Thank you for taking the time to go to such lengths – can’t have been an easy task – to rescue him. Not many people would have done what you did, I am truly very grateful.”
Smokey seems to be glad to be home, giving his humans lots of cuddles. Kerri said: “Since Smokey has been home he has been having lots of cuddles, I think he has missed us as much as we missed him.”