Clacton cat sparks two day rescue after getting stuck in a tree

Naartjie, a small tabby cat from Clacton, was exploring his owners' garden when a series of unfortunate events left him stranded. 

The moggy had spotted a large hedgehog and followed the animal but as his owner Jade Russel tried to avoid a potentially unpleasant encounter the kitten raced off and up a tree. 

He then became stuck with his desperate owners forced to hire scaffolding to entice him down.

Ms Russel said: “I went to go and shoo him away from it before he got prickles in his nose and must have frightened him, and he ran up the tree.  

“He kept climbing higher and higher and it was so windy last night. He was swaying in the wind with the tree.” 

The attempt to rescue the kitten themselves failed, as the tree was weak and brittle with narrow branches. 

Worried, Ms Russel and her partner called the fire brigade but were told to contact the RSPCA as they would instruct the fire and rescue service directly in a case where an animal needed rescue, after 24 hours. 

Unfortunately, the RSCPA office was unable to take the call, leaving Ms Russel without any options at that point in time. 

“That’s when I put the post on Facebook,” said Ms Russel, “I had tons of people offer to climb the tree however it wasn’t safe to do so, so I declined their offer.  

“My partner had the idea to hire a scaffold tower from Clacton Tool Hire, which we called at 7am when they opened. 

“They could only come at 9am so my partner and his dad assembled it and up they went."

The rescue attempt on the next day with the help of the scaffolding went smoothly, as father and son worked together to assemble it securely to be able to reach the kitten.

Following the worries of having to wait a whole night, Naartjie's owners were filled with relief once the kitten was out of danger and had its paws back on the ground after a sleepless night and countless tries to persuade it to come back down on its own.

“We slept on the couch with the window open and the lights on, hoping he would come down by himself but unfortunately, he didn’t.  

“We went to bed at 2.30 am and we’re up at 5 am to try persuading him again.” 

Luckily, Naartjie and his owners were reunited again but left tired and in need of recovery after the stress they all went through. 

A spokesperson from Essex Fire and Rescue said: "We will attend a small animal rescue at the request of the RSPCA we will also attend if there is a risk to life or property.

"Once on scene, we will work with partners including the RSPCA to determine the most appropriate course of action to resolve the incident."