ONTARIO, CANADA – St. Catharines firefighters narrowly avoided a cat-astrophy on St. Paul Street late Friday night.
St. Catharines firefighters plan their rescue of a cat on St. Paul Street Friday night. Bill Sawchuk/St. Catharines Standard
A white and brown cat settled at the very top of a tree about 30 feet above the sidewalk in front of Patrick Sheehan’s Pub on the corner of Queen Street.
A passersby said the cat had been meowing loudly for help for hours before four firefighters arrived and attempted a rescue.
Using an extension ladder, a firefighter — who insisted on not being identified — climbed the tree to perform the breath-taking rescue. Other firefighters purr-fected the plan by holding a tarp below to catch the cat if it fell.
However, this cat had other ideas. A brief battle ensued at the top of the tree, which left the firefighter with some bite marks and scratches on his hands even though he wore protective gloves.
The hiss-terical kitty wigggled free of the firefighter and plummeted to the pavement, missing the tarp by inches and landing with a thud on the sidewalk to fearful gasps of the growing crowd of onlookers and bar patrons.
Despite the fall, the cat appeared to have “landed on his feet,” and will be just fine!
