Rescue success! Trapped cat back on the ground after 17 days stuck in a poisonous tree

Rio the cat is safely on ground level after 17 days stuck in a 9m-tall poisonous palm tree in Whanganui.

Charm Animal Rescue owner Trieste Neilson said the cat was happy and well.

"She's in really good condition considering she's been up there for over two weeks."

Neilson had realised Rio was not feral as she had been crying out in the cage during the night.

"Feral cats don't do that because they don't know how to talk to humans."

The group used a cherry picker on Friday morning to retrieve a cage which had been used to trap Rio and bring it down from the tree.

ARAN Animal Rescue NZ volunteer Jodi Hawira said the cat was friendly and rubbing against the cage.

"So it's obviously been around humans," Hawira said.

A visit to the vet confirmed she was in good health and Rio is now waiting to be collected by her owners.

Aroha Williams (left), Trieste Neilson and Jodi Hawira said it had been a group effort. Photo / Bevan Conley

Neilson said the rescue had been a long process and a team effort.

"Then the battery of the first cherry picker we hired went flat.

"Then on Thursday afternoon the cat went into the trap but it was faulty and didn't shut, so she ate the food and walked back out again."

Neighbour Aroha Williams said on Thursday night she cooked a seafood boil-up for dinner.

"So [my partner] got some crab legs and some prawns ... and put it in the trap," Williams said.

Rio the cat is now safely down from the tree, healthy and back with her owners. Photo / Bevan Conley

Later that night, Hawira said she heard meowing in the tree.

"And as I walked up the drive around 8pm, I shone the torch and sure enough, the cat was in the cage."

She said the group was feeling relieved.

"All the effort has finally paid off."

Hawira said the drone deployed on Thursday by Quinn Pedley helped them decide where to place the trap, based on where the cat rested.

Edward Kumar had been operating the cherry picker, and said the last three days had been all about planning. Photo / Bevan Conley

Neighbour Edward Kumar had been operating the cherry picker from Hire It Limited over the past three days. It had been hired to the rescuers for free to help retrieve Rio.

Kumar said the past few days had been all about planning.

"The cage was our last option, but maybe we should have gone with it first I suppose.

"It's all trial and error and we've never done this before."

He said hopefully there wasn't a next time, but if there was they knew what to do.

"It can be done," Kumar said.

The day before, while attempting to get Rio out of the tree, a palm frond went through his shoe and into his foot.

"My foot's all good, I hacked at it and got out the little fibres."

Whanganui Fire and Emergency group manager Aaron Summerhays said their crews were unsuccessful due to the tree's height, and the tree's fronds, as opposed to branches.

"As an emergency organisation, our resources are frequently required elsewhere, so it is normal that our crews haven't remained at the scene," Summerhays said.

"Fire and Emergency has been liaising with the SPCA and have maintained regular contact with residents in the street throughout this process."

Hawira thanked everyone who was involved, including Whare Whanau, Kerri Thomas and Spinning Planet who donated to the effort.