NORTH Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and the RSPCA have rescued a cat trapped 20m up a tree.

The 18-month-old grey and white cat, called Loki, was spotted by a member of the public as he struggled to keep his balance on the branches of a high tree.

The windy weather meant the tree was shaking and the member of the public reported that Loki’s hind legs kept slipping off the branches.

The RSPCA attended on February 21 (Sunday) on Wayne Tarbard Close, in Ripon, with the help of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.

“This poor cat had become well and truly stuck in the tree during quite windy weather,” said RSPCA Inspector Claire Little.

“We advise people that cats are natural climbers and in a vast majority of cases they are very capable of getting themselves down from a tree, so unless there are special circumstances, we advise owners to try and coax their pet down with strong smelling food like fish and if that doesn’t work to give us a call back after 24 hours.

“After that time, an RSPCA officer will then visit to see if we can help.

“RSPCA officers are trained to use ladders, which they carry for rescues like this, however, in situations where we are still unable to reach the animals, we may ask the fire service to help and they often use animal rescues as a vital training aid.

“The fire service tried everything from ladders, reach and rescue poles and eventually they used the aerial platform to bring little Loki down to safety.

“I was then able to reunite Loki with his owners straight away who had been really worried about him.”