Kempston cat saved after spending a day stuck up 40ft tree

A scared kitty has got the RSPCA and firefighters to thank after getting itself stuck 40ft up a tree in Kempston.

The incident happened on Tuesday (January 9) when 10-month-old Tommy decided to get adventurous in St John’s Avenue, Kempston. And after rescuers managed to avoid a total cat-astrophe, he used one of his remaining eight lives to sleep off the ordeal. But don’t worry, he’s feline fine now.

RSPCA animal rescue officer Jane Folly said: “Tommy had been trapped up there for over a day and it was very cold. He’d already spent one night there and he could not spend another night stuck. His worried owners had spotted him up the tree after they heard him crying and called for help as he was really high up.

“After we headed to the scene, we enlisted the help of local fighters. Thankfully, the fire service were able to use their aerial platform to reach Tommy and he lept towards the firefighters; clearly he was desperate to come down from the tree. Despite his ordeal he seemed fine when he was home and went straight to his bed – I checked him over and he was well.

“This was a super rescue and we are so grateful to crews from Bedford and Kempston – Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service for rescuing him and getting back home safe and sound. It’s another reminder of what we can achieve together for animal welfare.”

In a vast majority of cases cats are very capable of getting themselves down from a tree, so unless there are special circumstances, the RSPCA advises owners to try and coax their pet down with strong smelling food like fish and if that doesn’t work to give them a call back after 24 hours.

RSPCA officers are trained to use ladders, which they carry for rescues like this, however, in situations where they still are unable to reach the animals, they may ask the fire service to help and they often use animal rescues as a vital training aid.