Cat rescued after 18 days stuck in Arkansas tree

JONESBORO, Ark. (UPI) — An Arkansas woman said her cat was stuck up a tree for 18 days before being successfully brought back to earth by a tree trimmer.

Beverly McIntosh of Jonesboro said her cat, Sparkles, scaled the 60-foot tree, and in the ensuing days, she and several friends tried unsuccessfully to reach the cat using a ladder.

“Everyone came up and got on that ladder to get her and she just would run farther and farther away,” McIntosh told KAIT-TV.

McIntosh said she tried contacting multiple organizations, but was repeatedly told Sparkles would come down on her own if food was left at the base of the tree.

She said weeks went by without Sparkles showing any signs of coming down, and she learned of an organization called ARC Angels 4 Animals.

“When we got the call, Sparkles had been in the tree two weeks going on three,” ARC Angels 4 Animals founder Angie Heringer said.

Heringer tried bringing in someone with a utility truck, but they determined the ground around the tree was too soft to safely use the vehicle. A tree climber contacted by the group determined it was too dark and the tree was too wet on the day they arrived.

Heringer said she was eventually able to contact a tree trimmer who was in town for a job, and the man donned his gear and scaled the tree.

Heringer posted photos and video to Facebook showing the moment the trimmer was able to capture Sparkles and bring her back down to solid ground. Sparkles had been in the tree for 18 days.

McIntosh said Sparkles is now recovering at home and will be an indoor cat for the time being.

“I was really scared,” McIntosh said. “I thought she was dead.”

Reporting by Ben Hooper