A service that removes cats from trees. Cat by the tail: How the Ministry of Emergency Situations saves cats. A rescue operation must be started if

Owners of cats and cats are often faced with a situation when their beloved pet suddenly climbs a tree, it’s not so bad if the animal has the courage to go down, but most often it is necessary remove a cat from a tree independently or with the help of special services. The reasons why your pet may end up in a tree are different; it may display its hunting instincts (for example, it may chase a bird), it may be afraid of something. Usually the owner does not have time to react and stop the animal in time. In such situations, you need to know how to rescue the animal, what methods and possibilities are available.

In fact, cats love to sit on some elevated place; from a high point, everything is clearly visible; a wide view allows the animal to control the approach of both the enemy and the prey. Ancient instincts are at work, at the top the cat (cat) makes it clear who is the owner of the local possessions, in this case the hunting instinct is triggered. In addition, in extreme situations, the animal tries to find the safest place, obeying the instinct of self-preservation, it can climb even higher. Usually young cats climb trees.

What to do if a cat climbed a tree but can’t get back down

Many cat owners panic much more than the animals themselves; if the pet has developed some climbing and descent skills, there is no need to panic. See how yours behaves cat in the tree: He is calm and doesn't scream, doesn't worry or get nervous, maybe it's worth getting a little hurt. Your cat (cat), having had enough of its time, may get off on its own a little later. If the skill of conquering peaks in cats has been worked out to the smallest detail, then the descent is accessible to not many; the complex structure of the bones allows cats and cats to quickly climb up, but to descend they have to back away; not all animals have such skills.

If you don’t want to wait in vain, there are some conditions and situations in which it is simply necessary to remove a cat, these include:
If the pet is very worried: constantly meows, rushes about, trembles, and so on.
If the animal looks weak and tired. Usually this means that the cat is emotionally exhausted, fear and nerves have exhausted the animal, and in the end it will simply fall due to loss of strength.
If an animal is at altitude for more than a day, it can simply lose strength and fall at any moment.
If the cat is young and simply does not have the skills to descend, then they can only be saved with someone else's help.
The weather is bad outside, rain, snow, frost, it is better to remove the animal as soon as possible.
An animal can climb a tree with various accessories (leash, clothing, harness, etc.), and there is a risk of injury in the branches, possibly even suffocation.
If the descent is dangerous, it has climbed very high, there are power lines nearby, and so on.
If you feel that the cat will not get off on its own.

In all of the above situations, it is necessary to release the animal.

How to remove a cat from a tree: basic methods

There are many ways how to remove a cat from a tree yourself, the only thing you need before using them is:

Prepare the site. Clear areas that could cause harm to you and the animal during descent.
If possible, try to lay various soft things on the ground, mattresses, rags, and so on.

Such precautions will help soften the blow if the animal falls and avoid serious injury.

Don’t rush to get after the animal, try to persuade it first. However, you shouldn’t do this; there are a lot of people around, or if there are dogs nearby, there are screams around. This can only frighten the animal once again; it can instinctively climb higher. As for the methods, you can:

You can try to feed the cat, lure it with food. Food can be left on one of the branches closer to the trunk, on the trunk and at the foot of the tree. A stressful situation, loss of strength and hunger can awaken hunting instincts in an animal, it can overcome fear and try to get to food. As for treats, it could be your pet’s favorite food, minced meat, a piece of fish or meat, try to warm the food, so the animal will react faster. Do not forget about water, in a stressful situation the animal begins to suffer from dehydration, in addition, both water and food must be constantly supervised, otherwise other animals may get to the food.
If the pet is young and playful enough, you can try to remove it using a laser pointer. This method is based on the hunting instincts of the animal. The beam must be directed in the direction of descent, accurately and carefully, taking into account the most convenient descent for the cat, begin to direct the beam to the foot of the tree. Just take your time; if the animal stops walking or loses sight of the beam, you must try again and again.
You can climb a tree yourself, for this you can use a ladder or use your tree climbing skills. The main thing is that this method must be safe, that is, the animal must be at an accessible height. In addition, it is better to use gloves, as the animal may panic when you remove it from the branch and begin to scratch. In addition, it is better to ask passers-by to help you, pull on a sheet or some other wide fabric; as soon as you remove the animal from the cage, you can release it and it will end up exactly on an impromptu trampoline.
If none of the above methods helped to remove the animal, you also did not succeed in removing it yourself, do not despair, you need to turn to professionals for help. As such, there are no specialized services for removing animals, but you can contact the Ministry of Emergency Situations; most often, specialists make concessions and save the animal. For this they have all the necessary equipment from sliding ladders to climbing equipment. They can help even in the most hopeless situations, however, you will have to pay for it. In addition to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, you can also contact professional climbers or a tree cutting service. Although not free of charge, help will be provided.

These are the main methods of rescuing cats from trees, which one to use depends on the situation, the most important thing is not to panic and consistently, according to plan, begin the rescue operation.

Owners of cats, especially those living in the private sector, are faced with a situation where their pets climb trees. Running away from possible danger or chasing potential prey, the cat finds itself in a difficult situation at high altitude. The owner must know how to remove a cat from a tree without harming the pet and himself, because it is impossible to leave the animal without proper help.

Quite often you can see a cat sitting high and meowing pitifully. Cats by nature love to choose elevated places to rest, watching from above what is happening. Positioned higher, the cat can observe possible prey and also notice the approach of a potential enemy.

A fairly common reason for a cat to end up in a tree is territorial behavior. By climbing a tall tree, a cat gives a clear signal who is the real owner of the area. This behavior in cats is associated with physiology and hunting instincts. Cats that have free access to the outdoors have not lost the ability to hunt, so in the heat of excitement they do not notice that they are climbing too high. Having settled down in the dense crown of a tree, the cat can calmly wait and inspect the birds.

An equally common reason why a cat ends up high in a tree is to hide from potential enemies - dogs. A cat can also be frightened by:

People;
cars;
sharp sounds;
explosions of fireworks and firecrackers.

In a fit of despair and severe fear, the cat climbs a tree to save its own life, finding itself in a dangerous trap. Statistics say that most often young animals and those that rarely go outside end up in trees.

Climbing high up a tree is driven by their interest in exploring new territories and the surrounding world, and due to the fact that there is no experience of proper descent, the cat finds itself in a trap.

First steps in removing a cat from a tree

First of all, the owner must determine whether the pet needs his help. It happens that compassionate owners begin to panic ahead of time, even at the moment when the cat is just starting to climb the tree trunk. It is especially worth noting that if this is not the first time a cat has climbed a tree without reaching the crown, then it will go down on its own, without outside help. Read also:

Carrying for cats: choosing comfortable “apartments”

Note! The main reason that a cat cannot descend on its own is the structure of its claws. The direction of growth makes it possible to climb up without much effort, but when descending, the claws do not provide the necessary support. Not every cat will dare to go down the trunk backwards.

A rescue operation must be started if:

A cat with a collar or leash climbed onto a high-rise building. The animal may become entangled in tree branches, causing serious injury or suffocation. In such cases, you need to try to remove the cat from the tree as carefully as possible yourself or by calling a special service.
Weather conditions – strong gusts of wind, frost or bad weather lead to rapid exhaustion of the animal’s body, and a weakened cat will not be able to fully jump from a great height without causing harm to itself.
A kitten climbed a tree - they do not have the necessary climbing skills and will not be able to leave the height without outside help.
A cat sits on a tree for more than 24 hours in a row - these predators have a fast metabolism and a long stay without food can harm the animal’s body.
The pet shows signs of concern - trying to get off, meowing loudly and invitingly, rushing around the crown of the tree.

The cat is depressed, exhausted and does not show any special signs of activity. It has been proven that a weakened cat becomes an easy prey for voracious crows.

What can the owner do?

Trying to free your pet from captivity on your own is a completely solvable task. There are a number of tricks that allow you to return your cat to solid ground without contacting special services. Before starting a rescue operation, it is necessary to prepare the area near the tree by removing foreign objects.

This could be remains of construction debris, glass or branches. You can lay disassembled cardboard boxes, old unnecessary clothes, a mattress or a blanket near the tree. If the cat falls down during the rescue process, precautions will prevent possible fractures when hitting the ground.

Persuasion and self-help

You can try to persuade the cat to come down on its own. It is advisable that the owner be alone, without strangers or intrusive advisers. You can ask idle onlookers to move away so as not to once again disturb the exhausted and exhausted animal. It is also important that there is no free walking of dogs nearby.

The owner's voice should be filled with confidence and calm. You can leave the animal for short periods of time so that it comes into view. The cat is afraid of large crowds of people, loud screams and sounds, as well as flapping of arms. Instead of calmly descending on its own, the cat begins to climb even higher.

Offer a treat

One effective way is to play on animal instincts. A cat is a predator by its animal nature, so it is quite easy to make contact if you offer them food.

After spending a certain time in captivity without food or drink, cats become much more sociable. The effectiveness of the method can be increased by using the animal’s favorite delicacies - aromatic fresh minced meat or fish (tuna is best, as it has a characteristic pronounced fishy aroma). It is recommended to heat the food so that the smell reaches the cat's nose faster.

If the tree has a fairly porous trunk, then in this case you can leave a small portion of food on the trunk, and a second portion directly on the ground in front of the tree. After the food has been placed, it is recommended to go a short distance and observe the animal’s reaction.

In addition to food, you can leave a small bowl of water near the tree. Sitting on a tree for a considerable amount of time, cats suffer more not from hunger, but from thirst. It is important to be close to the tree, so that it is in sight, since the bait in the form of food can attract other animals, especially stray dogs.

Some recommend using an infusion of valerian, supposedly it will make the animal come down as quickly as possible. Veterinary experts do not recommend conducting such experiments. The fact is that the infusion of this plant causes an inadequate reaction in cats, causing increased aggressiveness.

An excited and frightened animal under the influence of valerian may try to jump from a very high tree and in this case serious injuries cannot be avoided.

Using a ladder

You can try to remove the steeplejack from the tree using an extension ladder. The sliding ladder must be placed against the tree trunk so that the descent is gentle. You should not expect that your pet will quickly understand what kind of help has come to him, but give him some time to assess the situation.

Some people recommend using a long-handled broom wrapped in cloth as an aid. The rescuers' recommendations are based on the fact that you need to try to remove the animal without scaring it even more.

Website editor's comment: In the spring, an animal rescuer goes out to remove cats from trees up to five times a day. The main reason that cats end up in trees and cannot get down is because they are attacked by stray dogs.
In the midst of spring, a cat fall begins in cities. Pets - cats and cats - fall out of wide open apartment windows and from balconies. They escape from the realities of city life in basements, but more often they climb trees. “High-altitude climbers” themselves cannot descend from conquered peaks. There is no unified animal rescue service in the capital. The Ministry of Emergency Situations and utility workers rarely help, since animals are not their specialty. Climbers take the “athletes” down from dizzying heights. Cat rescue services cost from 2 thousand to 4 thousand rubles. The cat hunting season brings income to cat rescuers, and headaches for their owners, because such specialists still need to be found.
It is much easier for a cat to climb a tree than to get down. It's all about the structural features of the claws. You only need to go down backwards. You have to learn this, but there is no place for pets to train. In addition, they do not understand, unlike street people, what heights can be climbed and what heights cannot be reached. Fear drives poor animals to the very top. Once there, some begin to scream heart-rendingly.
From a post in LiveCity Innulja
The cat has been sitting on the tree for four days. He climbed onto the top of a thick branched poplar tree and “hovered” at the 5th floor level. The first days I screamed at the top of my lungs. Now he is crying angrily and meowing pitifully. He can't go down on his own. Crows are already circling above him. I feel sorry for the cat! In addition, his screaming does not allow him to sleep. No one can sleep in our yard for four nights. How to help the poor fellow? We don't know how to climb trees. But we can pay for the services of a steeplejack. All the neighbors are ready to chip in money. We just don’t know who can save the animal and return peace and quiet to our yard?
Should I remove a cat from a tree?
A pet that finds itself on the street runs in fear to a tree, where it can sit for 6–8 days. Then dehydration sets in, the animal loses strength, falls to the ground and breaks. Crows also pose a mortal danger to driven cats. Sensing a weakened animal, they can peck it to death. If the cat has not come down after a day, you should sound the alarm.
If a cat “hovering” between heaven and earth has an owner, then he solves his problems. If the animal is not owned by anyone, there are compassionate citizens who are not indifferent to its fate. But both of them first start calling the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
- The rescue service saves people, not animals. The cat will come down on its own, there’s nothing wrong with that. “No one has ever seen cat skeletons in trees,” said the Emergency Situations Ministry operator and advised to lure him with sausage or valerian.
If the cat doesn’t “peck” at either one, you can try contacting the nearest fire department.
Some Sentimental Firefighters Agree to Save a Cat's Life
This is exactly what the residents of the yard did, where the cat did not let them sleep for four days. They “agreed” with the firefighters. The brave guys agreed to rent the steeplejack for 4 thousand rubles, but the access of special equipment to the tree turned out to be impossible.
Rescue operation
According to the Animal Legal Defense Center, a flurry of calls begins in late spring. Citizens concerned about the fate of poor animals call asking for help. There are up to five calls a day.
“In the midst of spring, the number one problem is rescuing animals from trees,” said Svetlana Ilyinskaya, vice-president of the Center for Legal Animal Protection. - It’s blasphemy to say that there’s nothing wrong with it. Animals driven into trees die. But their skeletons are not visible, because the bodies fall to the ground. In practice, there have been cases when rescuers came to a call, and the animal was already dead.
Cat rescuers need a backpack and lasso
Svetlana Ilyinskaya told how specialists get the “victims”. For a special operation, cat rescuers need a backpack with a tightening neck and a lasso - a retractable pole that reaches to the level of the 8th floor, with a rope loop at the end. They deftly climb a tree, grab the animal with a lasso, or use their bare hands to grab it by the scruff of the neck and into the bag. It is better not to let him out on the ground right away or put him in a carrier. Otherwise, he may take off and climb another tree.
Can I remove it myself?
Everything seems simple. You can remove the tailed steeplejack from the tree yourself. But experts do not advise. There were cases when “would-be rescuers” had to be lowered from trees by professionals.
“This work is dangerous, I would say fatal, even for us climbers,” said cat rescuer of the All-Russian Association of CatsSpasov Alexey Meshcheryakov. “This business has its own difficulties: problem trees, nearby fences with sharp peaks, scratching cats.” I remove cats from trees not for money, but out of compassion.
The work of cat rescuers is deadly
If the cat is not “stuck” at a dizzying height, you can remove it yourself:
Place a ladder and lure the animal with sausage or valerian.
Shake the tree or branch on which the cat is sitting by throwing a rope over it.
“Knock down” the cat with a snowball or a stream of water from a hose.
Reach the cat with a net or push it with a stick.
But the cheapest and easiest way to prevent the flight of a tailed parachutist-athlete is to tighten the nets on the windows.
- To prevent such accidents, it is necessary to limit the cat’s access to open windows and balconies. Stretch gauze or mosquito nets over the frames, advised the Center for Legal Animal Protection.
Utilities have a new service for rescuing cats
After unsuccessful attempts to save the cat’s life with the help of emergency personnel and firefighters, residents of Northern Izmailovo who had not slept for four days called dispatch service No. 16. To their surprise, a cat rescue specialist was in the office. He, with a telescopic tube and wearing crampons, climbed a tree and lowered a screaming cat from there for 2 thousand rubles. The utility worker advised, in case the cat climbs somewhere again, to connect a hose to the tap in the apartment and pour water on it, but not on the cat, but pour it towards the tree trunk to force it to come down. Below, stretch the blanket and catch the “paratrooper”.
The Center for Legal Animal Protection confirmed that no-man's cats quite often make second runs and end up back on the treetops. To exclude such situations, the released cat must be placed in a cat shelter, but it is better for one of the residents to shelter the “spinner” at home.
Who will help remove the cat from the tree?

Calls with requests to remove a cat from a tree are received by 01 dispatchers several times a month. The Ministry of Emergency Situations does not have a special service that deals with animals, so requests are sent to regular duty search and rescue teams. Rescuers have no right not to respond to a call, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. Even if the old lady calling insistently demands to remove the owl that has settled in a tree near her house. This is called helping the population, and almost every brigade in the city faces such situations. A typical duty team consists of seven people who are ready to respond on the first call to any call: from utility failures and building collapses to helping pensioners stuck in the bathroom and rescuing kindergarteners from wasps. In addition to universal teams, there are also specialized ones, for example chemists.

Most often, cats have to be rescued from trees - dogs drive them there. It happens that animals are found in garbage collectors, where they fall through carelessness. Dogs often end up there too. The full team responds to any call. They say that the complexity of a situation can only be assessed on the spot. Once, while getting a cat out from under the bathtub, an employee got stuck under it himself. The help of the entire brigade was required.

There are also commercial organizations involved in rescuing cats. One of them is called “Koshkispas”. “A call costs them 2–4 thousand rubles, depending on the weight of the animal,” rescuers joke. The Ministry of Emergency Situations does not take any money for trips, only sometimes they receive small gifts from grateful owners. The last time a cat was rescued from a tree near a butcher's shop, rescuers were handed a stick of sausage.

Using the loops, we climb up and secure ourselves to the tree. Usually we take a free bag to put the cat in it. If there are not enough stairs, we climb up using construction ropes. It happens that a cat sits far away on the edge of a branch. Then we take a saw and slowly begin to saw down the branch. She goes down and the cat goes down too. And so he gradually jumps along the branches all the way to the ground. This happened when we rescued a cat in the kindergarten yard. He sat for three days, and crows began to fly around. When we were working, all the children and teachers chanted: “Em-che-es!” It was nice.

Rescued pets are almost always returned to their owners. If the animal is homeless, then they try to place it among friends and acquaintances. If that doesn’t work, they hand it over to the police department at the scene of the incident, but this happens infrequently, and the police are usually not too happy about the findings of the rescuers. The last time I had to bring a horse to the department.

Cats easily climb trees, but getting down from a tree is a completely different story. Their claws are well adapted for climbing a tree, and much worse for descending from it. Stuck in a tree, the cat gets scared; you try to talk to it, and the more you persuade the cat, the more afraid it becomes. There are many ways to calm a cat and remove it from a tree.

Steps

Persuade the cat to come down from the tree

If the cat is difficult to see behind branches and leaves, determine where exactly it is located. On what branch and how high does the cat sit? Finding out the exact location of the animal will help you decide how best to remove it from the tree.

Make sure there are no dogs nearby. It is necessary to calm the cat and try to make it climb down from the tree on its own. The sight of a cat in a tree can greatly irritate dogs, which will increase the cat's stress.

Try to coax the cat to come down from the tree before taking any other action. Call the animal. If the cat does not belong to you, try to find its owner so that he can call his pet. A cat will be more willing to respond to the calls of a person it knows.

If your cat often gets stuck in trees, clicker training can be of great benefit. The sounds of the clicker cause the desired reaction in the animal, and you can train your cat to run to you when you call his name, while clicking the clicker. After such training, your cat may be able to come down from the tree on its own, overcoming fear and hesitation.

Try luring the cat out of the tree using food or other incentives. If you own the cat, offer it its favorite food. If there is a strange cat in the tree, use food that is attractive to cats and has a strong smell, such as tuna meat.
- Place the bowl of treats under the tree and step aside. If your cat doesn't know you, she may be afraid to come down from the tree while you're around.
Try luring a cat out of a tree using a laser pointer. If your cat likes to play with the spot of light created by the laser pointer, try to get her interested in the spot, then slowly lower it to the ground. Find a laser pointer and direct its beam so that the cat sees the light spot. Most cats will not resist the temptation and will try to chase a small spot of light.
- Move the stain down along the tree trunk. If necessary, repeat several times until you attract the cat's attention and she is interested in the spot. If you're lucky, the animal will follow the spot and come down from the tree.
Wait a while, continuing to watch the cat - perhaps she will come down from the tree on her own. Give the animal a chance to climb down from the tree on its own before taking further action. Often cats, having calmed down and found a suitable path, descend from the tree themselves. The cat will need some time, enough room to maneuver, and confidence that people or other animals will not disturb her.
- After some time, the animal will get hungry, which will give it an additional incentive.
Consider further measures to remove the cat from the tree. These measures should only be taken after the cat has been unable to descend on its own for a long time (about 24 hours). Remember that cat claws are good for climbing trees, but not for descending them. Your cat could actually get stuck in a tree and need your help!

Helping a cat get down from a tree
1. Bring something to the tree along which the animal can climb down. This could be a long branch or a sliding ladder. It will be easier for your cat to descend if you lean the object against the tree trunk at a less acute angle, so that the descent is gentler.
  - As before, give your cat time to assess the situation and decide to take advantage of the opportunity. Make sure the new path is safe by leaning the chosen object securely against the tree trunk and step aside.
2. Try to lift something towards the cat in which you can then lower it down. Throw a string over the branch the cat is sitting on and tie an object that can accommodate the cat to one end, such as a cat carrier. Make sure that the cat can climb into the container, then pull the rope to lift it towards the stuck animal.
  - You can put your cat's favorite food that has a strong smell in the container.
  - Wait until the animal goes inside the container. Be patient. If after a few hours the cat still won't come into the container, you will probably need to climb the tree yourself and put the cat in it.
  - Once the animal is in the container, carefully but promptly lower it to the ground.
3. You can use a long-handled broom and a towel. This method is suitable if the cat is close to you, but you still cannot reach it; use it after you have tried other methods, as this may cause the animal to fall and be injured. Tie the towel tightly around the working part of the broom. From a safe position on the ground or a stable stepladder, poke the cat with a broom to throw it off balance. When a cat loses its balance, it will instinctively grab the towel, gripping it with its claws.
  - Before the cat can unhook from the broom, gently pull it towards you (in this case, the cat will try to stay on the tree with its hind legs). If you're lucky, the cat will grab the broom more tightly than the branch, and at some point she will have to jump onto the broom completely, leaving the tree.
  - Be prepared to bear the weight of the cat and broom.
  - Without delay, grab the broom closer to the working part. Grab your cat by the scruff of the neck before he jumps back, making sure to hold on tightly to a tree or ladder. If you have a helper, hand the broom and cat to him.
4. Contact a tree service for help. The fire department is unlikely to agree to come out for such an occasion, but local tree workers can help you. They will charge inexpensively for their services, but they must ensure that no harm is done to the animal.
Climbing a tree
1. Check the ground near the tree. Make sure there is nothing around the tree that could hurt you if you fell.
  - Check to see if the stepladder or ladder you are using is secure - it's not enough to get injured trying to remove a cat from a tree.
2. Wear long sleeves and gloves before climbing a tree. Whether you are rescuing your cat or someone else's, a frightened animal may try to escape. Long sleeves and gloves will protect you from the claws and fangs of a panicked animal; Plus, they'll give you a better grip on the cat when you finally get to her.
  
  When you reach the cat, grab it tightly. Try to grab it by the scruff of the neck - this makes cats go into a stupor, and this will make it easier for you to hold the animal.
3. Handle your cat carefully but confidently. Don't let it slip away from you before you have a secure grip on it or place it in a box or bag.
  - Remain calm - if you start to panic, your cat will get your anxiety and try to escape.