Group helps rescue cat stuck in tree for 18 days

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - It took quite a while for a cat in Jonesboro to finally come down from a tree, but a Jonesboro woman said she’s thankful for an animal rescue group and her community for coming together to help her.

Beverly McIntosh’s cat, Sparkles, was stuck 60 feet in a tree for 18 days before she was finally rescued.

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

This is not the first time Sparkles has found herself stuck in a tree. McIntosh said last year, Sparkles got stuck in a tree, but luckily, she was able to get her out with a ladder.

This time, several of her friends tried to get Sparkles down without any luck.

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

Sparkles eventually climbed an estimated 60 feet into the tree.

McIntosh called several different people and organizations to help rescue Sparkles but got several different responses.

“Have you ever seen a cat, dead cat in a tree, you know, put a can of tuna and it will come down,” McIntosh said.

She knew Sparkles was stuck, and the cat started to lose weight.

Then one day, she received a call from a friend saying she no longer heard Sparkles crying out from the tree.

“She called and said she thought, you know, she finally had passed away,” McIntosh said.

McIntosh came home and was able to get Sparkles to cry out.

She then learned of ARC Angels 4 Animals, a local rescue group in Jonesboro, and gave them a call.

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

Heringer started to make calls. A person with a utility truck did come by but determined the ground was too soft for the truck to get back there.

She said another person from out of town came in to try and climb the tree, but it was too dark and too wet for them to safely rescue Sparkles.

Another night went by with Sparkles in the tree and the next day, Heringer called a tree service who happened to be working in town to see if they could help.

“And he said, yeah I can come right over,” Heringer said.

So he put on his tree climbing gear and scaled the tree. The closer he got to Sparkles, the farther she would climb up.

Finally, he was able to pet her behind the ears and grab her.

“He was up and down in probably five to six minutes,” Heringer said.

After 18 days in a tree, Sparkles was back in the hands of her owner, and McIntosh said she was so grateful to those who helped.

Currently, Sparkles will be an inside cat, until McIntosh can find a safe way to let her go back outside.

Heringer said the best way to try to get a cat out of a tree is to place food at the base, but if the cat does not come down, call an animal organization to help rescue the cat.

She does not recommend anyone to use a ladder to rescue the animal on their own.

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