An epic rescue mission has been ongoing in a small town in Wales for the past four days to get a cat down from a 40ft tree.
Residents in Tredegar, in the south east of the country, have rallied round with fishing nets, treats, cherry pickers and even a four-storey scaffold platform to try and get the animal down.
Leanne Skinner, 36, told Metro.co.uk: ‘It all started on Saturday when I went for a walk with my friends – I live just up the lane from where the cat is.
‘We were walking back and I heard a cat crying. We looked around for it, in the bushes and everywhere, but we just couldn’t see it. We could just hear this loud and pitiful cry.
‘Then suddenly it occurred to one of us that it was stuck up the tree. We knew it must be quite high because we still couldn’t see it.’
She said she immediately called the RSPCA, but they would not come out until it had been stuck there for 24 hours, as cats often work their way down.
The cat had not moved so the next day the charity attended alongside the South Wales Fire Service – but sadly its rescue attempts were fruitless.
Leanne, who is a part-time teacher, said: ‘They put ladders up and they could see the cat, but she just went further up the tree.
‘It’s about 40ft high, so the RSPCA said it would come back the next day to see if it had moved a bit further down back into reach.’
In the meantime, she posted about the cat on Facebook and had an overwhelming response.
‘I’ve had so many people ringing me and messaging me and offering to help,’ said Leanne, who lives in Tredegar with husband Mark and their six-year-old son Alfie.
‘We’ve now had two cherry pickers out trying to help, and people have tried to get her down with a fishing net and coax her down with food and treats.
‘I just can’t believe the reaction this has had. Who would have thought a little Facebook status would lead to all this? The whole of Tredegar has rallied round and seems to be behind this cat.’
The huge amount of attention resulted in a local scaffolding firm building a four-storey structure around the tree yesterday to try and coax the cat back down to the ground.
Workers have left food and water at the top of the scaffolding, but have so far failed to convince the cat to leave its hiding spot.
Company AP Scaffolding posted on Facebook: ‘We are trying our very hardest to rescue this cat.
‘No joy in getting the cat down tonight. We left him some water and food and will be back tomorrow.’
Its director, Paul Ratledge, told BBC Wales today: ‘We had a phone call from the local fire service. They’d tried with cherry pickers, they’d had a tree surgeon but they couldn’t get it.
‘We’ve been there this morning, taking food to it. We’ve set up scaffolding boards on angles now so the cat will be able to get down by itself.
‘We got right by it but it went up higher again. It was crying a bit.’
Leanne has been searching for the owner of the cat, as animal experts said it may venture down if it hears a familiar voice.
She said she thinks she’s found the owner, but no one will know until it returns to the ground and they can see it up close. It is believed to be called Cookie.
The scaffolders are set to return tonight to try and complete the rescue mission, while Leanne – and the rest of Tredegar – remain on tenterhooks.
‘The most ridiculous thing about this is I’m not even a cat person – I have a dog,’ she laughed.
‘But I definitely want a cwtch when it comes down, after all this. I just hope I’m there when it happens and I don’t miss it!’
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