When nobody else would help, a caring window cleaner came to the rescue of a cat who had been stuck in a tall tree for 24 hours in Lincoln, Nebraska this week.

Local resident Rainee Penfield first discovered the poor, frightened cat at 11am on Tuesday morning, when she heard a desperate meowing coming from her yard. The cat was sitting about 30 feet up in a tree, and seemed unable to come down on his own.

Penfield and her neighbours attempted to encourage the cat to climb down by using food and toys, but the descent was too difficult due to the sparse arrangement of the branches.

Desperate for help, Penfield called a total of eight different tree-trimming companies along with Animal Control, the Capital Humane Society and Lincoln Fire and Rescue.

“They all told me it would probably come down by itself, but I knew that it was just stuck,” she said. “It was really distressing.”

Unwilling to give up on her rescue efforts, Penfield posted a call for help in several different Facebook groups. Local man Shane Rosengren, owner of a window cleaning company, contacted Penfield and arrived the same day to see if he could assist the shivering feline. Unfortunately, at 5 pm when he arrived, the weather had worsened and it was too windy to use the extra-long ladder to retrieve the cat.

Rosengren headed home, promising Penfield that he would return the next morning if the cat was still up the tree.
Sure enough, the next morning, the petrified feline was still up there crying for help.

Using an extendable ladder and carrying a blanket and cat cage, Rosengren was able to climb up to the stranded feline.

“It was beautiful and intense,” Penfield said. “(The cat) didn’t want anything to do with the carrier, he just jumped right on (Rosengren’s) shoulders. He was so sweet.”

cat rescued from tree

Image Credit: Facebook – Rainee Penfield

When safely back on ground, Penfield said the cat was very friendly. She named him “Clarity,” which is the name of Rosengren’s window cleaning business.

After a check up at the vet, where Clarity was pronounced healthy and unscathed after the tree ordeal, they discovered no microchip, and determined the cat to be about 2 years old.

For the next month, Clarity will be fostered at Penfield’s mother’s home. If no guardians come to claim this intrepid, exploring kitty, he will become eligible for adoption.

Penfield is grateful that Rosengren came to the aid of this lucky cat.

“He’s just a wonderful man,” she said. “It was beautiful to see him put his heart out like this.”

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