Tree surgeons praised for rescuing a cat stuck up a 50ft tree for two days after being chased by a dog

Vince and Duncan Brady, from the aptly-named Garden Rescue Tree Services, gave up their time to come to the aid of one-year-old Steve, after he was chased up the tree by a dog in a coppice not far from his home in Ashurst, Skelmersdale.

Owners Ian and Tina Barry had spent all thath time trying to coax him down, to no avail, and decided to call the RSPCA for help.

Animal rescue officer Johnny Brooks arrived at the scene and noticed Vince and Duncan parked nearby. The father and son team told him they had heard about Steve’s plight and wanted to see if they could help.

Using specialist equipment, Duncan was able to reach Steve and managed to coax him to come close enough to catch, before bringing him back down in a rock bag. The rescue, on 26 April, took over two-and-a-half hours.

Johnny said: “Steve had spent three nights and two days stuck in the tree and there was no way he was going to come down by himself, especially as some of the branches were quite brittle and making it more difficult for him.

“Even the fire brigade would not have been able to reach him on this occasion - so we’re really grateful to Vince and Duncan who were only too happy to help and kindly donated their time and expertise with what turned out to be quite a long and tricky operation.

“Steve was understandably frightened - he was clinging to the edge of a branch which was bending over with his weight - but once he was safely down I checked him over and he was thankfully uninjured and returned to his very relieved owners.”

The RSPCA encourages owners to try and give their cats enough time - usually 24 hours - to come down from trees on their own by trying to tempt them with smelly treats or by warming food a little to increase its odour.

It’s quite often the case that they're not actually trapped, but scared or unsure and they often figure it out and end up making their own way down.

Every job is different though and it will depend on the age and health of the cat, whether it’s injured or physically caught in something and the weather conditions at the time. If rescue is attempted too early, cats will sometimes go higher or they may jump from tree to tree and put themselves at further risk of falling.