Situation Catical For Tree-Stranded Kitty (Update – Cat Saved!)

Sunday, June 2, 2013
The stranded cat is sitting on one branch with its front paws clinging to one farther up. Photos by KLH | Eye

The stranded cat is sitting on a branch about 50 feet up the tree, with its front paws clinging to a branch farther up. KLH | Eye

Update: a tenant of the Meadowbrook Apartments reports at 8 p.m. that the cat has been saved by a professional cat rescue service. Developing. – Ed.)

Kevin L. Hoover

Eye Editor

SUNNY BRAE – A cat has been stuck in a tree for three to five days in Sunny Brae. Meowing piteously and clinging to branches about 50 feet up, the stranded cat is located in a wooded area between the Meadowbrook and Brookside apartments on southernmost Samoa Boulevard.

The area, through which lower Beith Creek flows, is marked with “No Trespassing” signs.

Arcata Police Sgt. Ron Sligh visited the site earlier today, and said a rescue was beyond  APD’s expertise. “It’s inaccessible for us,” Sligh said.

He suggested that an arborist be contacted.

Residents say Arcata Fire told them the densely wooded area in not reachable by the department’s ladder truck, but this hasn’t been confirmed.

A property manager at the apartment complex said he had no plans to notify owner Strombeck Property Management. The company is known to employ tree services which address landscaping issues on its many local properties.

Several optimistic observers stated that since cat carcasses aren’t commonly observed in trees, they likely make their way down eventually.

Sunday afternoon, a resident kept watch on the animal in its flimsy perch, swaying in the wind-buffeted tree. “I’m praying for it,” she said.