Cat in a tree? An arborist saves the day

After spending almost three days of his nine lives in a tree, Steve was back on solid ground.

A Pemberton Heights cat went missing on Tuesday evening. Owner Michelle Johnson did what any pet owner would do and searched the North Vancouver area with no luck. It wasn’t until she heard screams from above that she realized what had happened.

“I looked up and he’s on top of… a 100-foot tree,” she said. “He had never climbed this high before, not even this high.”

Johnson said no one saw Steve climb that high, but she believes he must have been scared by a local bear that frequents the area.

Johnson tried to find a way to euthanize the cat, but was unsuccessful. North Vancouver District Fire and Rescue agreed to come, but found that a typical ladder didn’t reach that high. Instead, they recommended several arborists, although Johnson found most of them too expensive, which was bad news for Steve, who was facing his second night of sleeping in the elements.

Eventually, the cat-loving owner of Tree Care Pros agreed to rescue Steve for a very reasonable price. Using his spurs and a rope, he hopped up to Steve, lured the recalcitrant kitten with treats into his backpack, and then lowered him back to the ground.

Steve, visibly stressed, put on a show, Johnson said.

– Oh, he was going crazy this whole time. He did a lot of ninja moves that I had never seen him do before, standing on two legs. It was quite interesting,” she said. “The bag finally came down and his nose was sticking out.”

A day later, both Steve and Johnson are feeling much better.

“He’s resting, sleeping, eating, so everything’s fine,” she said with a laugh. “I felt relieved. I couldn’t eat for 24 hours. It was just a mess.”

The experience, however, clearly had an effect on the normally reserved cat.

“He was very sweet. He’s usually not very cuddly,” she said.

Johnson said she wanted to share her experiences with the broader community because she loves reading stories about animals in the news, especially those involving rescues. “Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way,” she added.