It was a challenging assignment – a black cat, approximately 60 feet up a tree on a dark, windy night.
But to the people worried about the anxious animal, a rescue couldn’t wait.
The black cat, owner unknown, was heard yowling by a number of people at the Sorrento Park and as time passed, concerned animal lovers pondered what to do.
Sandy Nicholson was one of the first to spot the cat at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, March 26.
“I was about to leave and I heard this distressed meowing. It took a few minutes before I realized it was not coming from the ground, but from way, way up in a tree,” said Nicholson.
When her coaxing words didn’t work, Nicholson was forced to leave.
“I was heartbroken to have to leave it stuck there,” she said.
The SPCA and fire department do not do cat rescues from trees, as they are not properly trained to climb trees, nor do they have the insurance to attempt these kind of rescues.
So Nicholson phoned a friend, Crystal Springall, to try and come up with a solution. They turned to Facebook.
Soon one message turned into more than 100.
Enter Barbara Gosselin, an animal lover and worker at the Shuswap SPCA.
“I know the SPCA can’t do these kind of rescues, and the fire department can’t either, that just happens in the movies, the only people that are trained and insured for climbing trees is a tree topping company, so I started making some calls,” said Gosselin.
By this time, it was late evening, but the idea of the cat spending another night stuck up the tree was difficult to stomach. So Gosselin volunteered to front the costs of the rescue and managed to convince Steve Beals of Vertical Tree Care to take on the task that night.
Nicholson, Gosselin and a few others came to the park and used flashlights to light the tree while Beals hoisted up the tree. But the skittish cat decided to climb higher.
“It was pretty crazy. By the time Steve got to the cat and grabbed him, there was about a three-inch diameter of tree trunk left.”
Beals tucked the cat into a backpack and brought him safely back to solid ground.
“It was so emotional. Steve did such an amazing job.” said Nicholson. “I cried, I was so relieved. We were all cheering and high-fiving.”
Gosselin took the long-haired male cat home, where he devoured two plates of food. The next day he was taken to the vet for a check up and a shave down, due to the terrible matts in his coat – which gave him his new name “Matthew.”
He has now been taken to the SPCA, where he is being held for four business days as a stray in hopes that his owner may claim him. After that, he would be put up for adoption.
Some of the people following the saga on Facebook have made contributions towards Gosselin’s payment for the $400 rescue, but Springall is encouraging more contributions. Any money raised over the cost of the bill would be donated to the Shuswap SPCA shelter.