Trapped and trembling, poor Willow braved the weather atop a windswept tree. Through the fear of her neighbour's dog she had made a vertical dash up the trunk and in the process had gotten herself stuck.
Rescue Officer Nalika happened to be scrolling through a lost pet page on Facebook when she stumbled across a post from the distressed cat owner.
"The lady had been calling for assistance but hadn't had any luck," she said.
"On the drive over I was getting worried. The weather had taken a turn for the worst and it was just bucketing down."
Despite the pouring rain, Willow would not come down
On arrival at the property, Nalika surveyed the surrounding trees. "We discovered the poor thing was in the neighbour's yard.
We suspect the neighbour's dog had scared the cat up to the top canopy. It's a common reason why cats get stuck in trees," she Nalika.
"They are just so terrified they don't want to come down. The neighbours didn't know the cat was stuck there so they quickly put the dog away."
With a little bit of patience and a helping hand, Willow was back on the ground
The branches of the upper tree were quite thick, which made it difficult for Nalika to reach the cat in distress.
"I couldn't catch her with a net because there were so many twigs in the way. I did however manage to use the 5-metre poles we carry in the van to help coax her down."
"She ran into her owner's front yard and into the catflap of the house. Willow had minor cuts and bruising and was taken to the vet overnight."
"I was relieved she survived the storm from all the way up there", said Nalika.
This cat was stuck between a branch and a hard place
Not long after, Nalika would receive a call about another trapped kitty - this time a stray who had lodged herself within the fork of a tree.
A woman had made the call after she was unable to remove the cat herself. Whilst sitting inside she had been drawn to her window after hearing a loud peculiar thud.
After pushing back the curtain she was gobsmacked to see the bottom half of a cat protruding from her front tree.
"Apparently the cat had lost consciousness from the impact. we suspect she fell off the roof before being lodged. She was there for about an hour before we arrived."
"It took us quite some time to get her out. We had to lift the poor cat at different angles - you couldn't just lift her up normally," said Nalika.
With a bit of maneuvering, Nalika was able to free the cat
Nalika had to be gentle and patient. She slowly rotated the cat left and right and with her free hand, she lifted the cat's stomach. With one final push, Nalika was able to free the weary feline from the centre of the tree.
"It's certainly a first me. I couldn't believe her bad luck," said Nalika.
"I have been in contact with the woman since and she is now having the cat desexed and is planning to give her a new home. The cat was scanned but had no traces of an owner."
Nalika is hoping the cat will have better luck navigating the inside of its new home.
