How long would you leave a stray cat 20 feet up a tree in your yard

before you got worried it wasn't going to get down? It's only been a few hours, but kitty looks like he's not going to move...I've got about 4-5 hours of light left today..

but knowing me, I'd already be on my way up to get it.

a long 4x4 up against the trunk...

Give me a second.. I will drop one of mine off the roof.. BRB.



OK -- Harley is alive but he is pissed. I might be sleeping alone tonight.

Just kidding! In my 43 years of life I have NEVER seen a dead cat in a tree. Somehow they always seem to be able to get down on their own.

since it's a stray he might just panic.

If you can get a long plank or branch you can lean it up against the trunk. If you can, prop the base on something high and stable to decrease the angle (a truck bed?). The cat will eventually try to come down and will likely try to get what you have placed there since it would be easier to negotiate than the vertical trunk. Anything you could do to decrease the angle of descent will help.

I would be afraid that any attempts to actually get a hold of the cat would prompt an untamed cat to jump from fear. I would just try to think of a way to make his descent as easy and safe as possible. The plank or THICK branch is the best I can come up with at the moment. If you do that, make sure it doesn't wobble. If it's shaky the cat isn't likely to trust it. It might take half an hour or 5 hours till he decides to try and come down. Be patient.

Keep an eye on the little guy and good luck to both of you.

landscaping log up against the trunk. Thanks

Me neither.

can be fatally injured from a fall.

I've never seen a human skeleton in a tree either, but the same happens to them too. :)

I remember when I was a kid, a cat got stranded at the top of an enormous tree in our yard. After two days of begging from me, my dad got out the ladder and nearly killed himself getting the beast down. The second the cat was on the ground, it ran straight back up the tree. My dad didn't get it down this time.

The cat came down on it's own a couple of days later.

Sooner or later, it will.
Ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?
No cat ever starved to death in a tree.
Eventually its tummy will get the best of its fear and it'll come down.

so I hope it figures it out sooner rather than later..

Put some food under the tree and leave it alone - it will probably be gone in the morning.

check out my options!

in a tree, they can have real problems getting back down. The way their paws are shaped and claws are arched make it very easy to get up, but work against them when trying the reverse. Cats tend not to "walk" their way down a tree or object -- they tend to scoot down a bit and then jump the rest of the way. If they are too high, that jump can be too far for them.

The longer the cat is up that tree, the longer he goes without water and food and the more strength he loses. If a cat is really feeling stuck, they will not come down until they fall out. An intervention might be in order if he is still there in the a.m.

freezes, turns around and heads back up to a kind of flat branch..I'll try all the suggestions, hope it doesn't rain or snow tonight and hope he's gone in the morning.

As long as it's up there, it's not killing the songbirds in my yard.