The more things change, the more others things remain the same. Neighbor Eugenie snapped into Bernalwood Action News mode yesterday to report live from the scene as the San Francisco Fire Department plucked a frightened kitty named Bee from the upper branches of a Bernal Heights tree:
A small kitten chasing squirrels got stuck 25 feet up a redwood tree on south Andover Street this afternoon. To the delight of a half dozen kids, five of our finest from the Church Street station coaxed little Bee down.
Hooray, SFFD! Neighbor Eugenie stayed on the scene to capture the moment when the embarrassed cat finally came back to earth. Citizens of Bernalwood, meet Bee:
PHOTOS: Neighbor Eugenie Marek
Bernalwood 
Kudos to our brave men & women in the SFFD, but – I’ve never seen a cat skeleton in a tree!
That kitty does not looked terribly embarrassed. Thank you SFFD for putting up with ungrateful kitties who passively aggressively assume they *should* be rescued. Sigh. Its like cats just don’t listen…
We also benefited from the good graces of SFFD. A few years ago, “Freddy” (who has since gone through his 9th life), got stuck way up a neighbor’s tree that has few lower branches. Still a mystery how he got up there. Despite cajoling him with all kinds of fishy treats placed at the base of the tree, he didn’t venture down, and indeed spent the night up above. The next morning, through binoculars he appeared pretty beat, so we called Animal Control. A nice person arrived with a much-too-short extendable grabber. She phoned the SFFD on our behalf, and sure enough a big rig arrived on Ripley — replete with a siren, and a team of four. The lone woman (a plucky firefighter from Britain) climbed and plucked our little guy. Yay!
NOTICE all the dead cats at the base of trees? No? Well, that’s because cats eventually come down when they realize that their claws work only one way. So, they learn how to back down and jump. Calling in the fire department is a WASTE of resources.
About a month ago I was sitting under a tree watching a neighborhood cat climb a tree to see if he could catch birds. He got WAY up there and when he tired, he tried to get down. He discovered that he claws didn’t work backwards, slipped and spun around, and noticed that his claws were gripping. So, he backed down. A few days ago I saw the same cat climb the same tree. This time he backed down when he was bored.
+1 Leave the cat in the tree. When it gets hungry it will find its way down…and then eventually find its way back up again because, well, it’s a cat
David, if you actually want to know why we don’t see cat skeletons in trees it’s because of gravity—they become too weak to hold on and fall. Cat claws only go up, so they either have to figure out how to back down, or they’re eventually coming down the hard way, with mixed results.
I guess this is why SFFD couldn’t spare any trucks or personnel to send to the Valley Fire. What a waste of resources.
The SFFD already has several strike teams operating to fight wildfires around the state. The reason more teams couldn’t be sent to the Valley fire is a lack of spare VEHICLES to send. The rigs sent are actually Engines, with a pump, water tank and hose. The rig in the picture of the cat rescue is a Truck, with ladders and tools. Those don’t (usually) get sent as Mutual Aid rigs to wildfires.
So… the cat rescue didn’t prevent any mutual aid responses. And the SFFD is always glad to help citizens anytime it is possible and appropriate.
Having said that… the first comment was dead on. Any animal that can get up a tree can get down. In these cases, it’s really the panicked human that is being rescued…
And who’s to say that’s a waste of resources?
🙂
“In these cases, it’s really the panicked human that is being rescued”
Ain’t that the truth!
The panicked human needs to get a life. People who care THAT much about cats tend to become cat hoarders and eventually suffer from mental diseases caused by cat feces. Since I learned about this I stay away from cats and cat hoarders.
“I love a man(or woman) in a uniform”…..
I really hate to beat a dead cat here, but a point that keeps being repeated needs correcting—cats that get stuck in trees can truly be stuck. You can still think it’s a waste to save them if you like, but if you don’t know what you’re talking about, please refrain from interjecting.
Knowing is half the battle.
http://www.treecatrescue.com/pgs/02_myths_and_facts.html
http://www2.catinatreerescue.com/view/faq.cfm
http://exquisitekitty.com/cat_stuck_in_tree.html
and about 1,000,00 other links
Quick, call the SFFD!
Keep your cats indoors so they leave squirrels and birds and other desirable creatures to be.
Frankly, cats are the equivalent of rats. Until the feral cat population took over there used to be small low-flying birds. Today, about all that’s left is the crows, seagulls, and other birds that can fight back against the cats.