Charlotte Varcoe
EMERGENCY services responded to a unique callout on Wednesday to help a young cat stuck about 40 feet high in a tree after escaping his home.
Beloved pet, one-year-old Ollie escaped his home before running up a large tree in a neighbours backyard where he was stuck for about 50 hours in rain, hail and shine all while causing chaos for his family.
Tracey Lowrie called emergency services on Wednesday after Ollie escaped the day before.
Ms Lowrie told The Border Watch he was an indoor cat initially but had gotten out and disappeared.
“We heard him meowing and searched everywhere before finding him,” Ms Lowrie said.
“It was at 9pm at night when I shined my light on the tree that I realised he was up there.”
The next day, after making numerous attempts at getting the young cat down, the worried owner took to social media for advice when she was told to contact emergency services.
After calling the fire station Ms Lowrie waited in anticipation as to whether they were able to help.
“We did try and get him down and he only turned around on the branch but wouldn’t come down,” she said.
“He just sat there and wasn’t moving so we put food on the roof incase he tried to come down but he didn’t come down for that either.”
Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) station officer Adrian Puust said rescue services worked alongside the State Emergency Services (SES) by attended the address on the Wednesday to work out how they could help.
He said the location of the tree as well as sheds and fences would make it difficult for firefighters to use their equipment without putting themselves in danger.
“We decided to wait another 24 hours and come up wit ha better plan with how to rescue Ollie,” Mr Puust said.
“That resulted in the RSPCA approaching Baxter Hire who donated a cherry picker for us to use due to the RSPCA not having a rescue officer in the Limestone Coast.”
From the neighbouring yard of Ms Lowrie – which backed onto the yard with the tree Ollie was stuck in – Mr Puust said it was about 30 feet high.
“We had tried to rescue a cat that high once and it actually leapt out from the tree and luckily landed safely before taking off,” he said.
“One of my main concerns was if Ollie was startled, he may jump out of the tree and cats do not always fall nicely because of obstacles in their way.”
He said despite the difficult circumstances, Ollie cooperated greatly with the MFS and SES officers.
“Ollie was desperate to get out of the tree after spending more than 50 hours in it and on a very wet and windy night,” he said.
“He wanted to get out and cooperated very well by leaping into the enclosure we had.”
Mr Puust said emergency service responders were more than happy to reunite the furry friend with his family, noting the willingness of the MFS and SES to perform more “mundane” tasks.
“This shows we are prepared to do the simpler stuff and we are approachable and also have compassion adn understanding of people’s circumstances,” he said.
“In this case Ollie ran out, he had never done it before and soon found himself in the big wide world.”
SES district officer Brad Flew said rescue tasks such as this showed the collaborative approach between the SES and other emergency services and was a true testament to their relationship with each other and the community.
“It may not have been one of the bigger rescues but continues to show support within the community when we do these rescues and utilises our pet rescue training,” Mr Flew said.
As for Ollie, Ms Lowrie said if he wished to venture outside again, it would be in an outdoor enclosure built to prevent this from happening again.
