Cat stuck in tree for nine days

A phoenix palm tree in Fernhill has so far defeated services trying to rescue Eva, the stuck cat. Photo/Warren Buckland

A case of a curious cat has stumped the Hastings Fire Brigade and Napier SPCA after several attempts have left them no closer to a happy ending.

It has been nine days since two-and-a-half-year-old Eva was chased up a 10-metre phoenix palm by a stray dog and owner Mary Kupa is desperate to have her furry feline back in her arms.

"It has given me a few sleepless night's because I constantly hear her meowing and letting out a frightened sound. She's been up in the rain and the freezing cold and I hope she comes down before the weather gets worse," Ms Kupa said.

"It is hopeless, this has never happened before. I wish someone had an idea of how to get her down."

It is hoped that it will be third time lucky, with the Hastings local planning to install a makeshift slide for the timid cat to come down on its own.

"My brother is here and we thought we would see if we could get light planks together and put it up by the tree so she could slide down. It is the only way I think she might come down."

After Ms Kupa found Eva's mum wandering around, she decided to take the pregnant cat in and eventually adopted Eva along with her brother, Ewin, when they were just kittens.

SPCA Manager, Bruce Wills said it was fairly uncommon for cats to be stuck for this long, usually coming down on their own.

"Unfortunately phoenix palms are pretty problematic with large tops proving access to be difficult. We hired a cherry picker and a couple of arborists on Friday and they spent quite a bit of time up there but didn't see it.

"It is a bit frustrating because these things are not cheap to hire."

He said they had even tried putting up a cat trap, but that it hadn't worked as they couldn't reach a spot high enough and where it could also be attached to a branch.

"With all the bad weather we have had, if it was desperate enough to come down, it would have done so already.

"There are so many resources that we have and, even if we did have unlimited resources, there would be little we could do."

He believed Eva would be able to survive a long time up in the tree, with plenty of water collecting at the top and pigeons roosting in the palm.

"It is a frustrating situation for the SPCA as we would like to do something but we are just out of realistic options. We want to relieve a poor cat from suffering."

As for the fate of the tree, Ms Kupa said the "phoenix palm would definitely be getting the chop".