14 December, 2024

Astronomic fire-crew rescue after feline’s big climb

The right fluff… Louis Tapsell with persian cat Astro safely back in his arms after firemen lured him down, via a long ladder.

Astro the cat may not have been shooting for the moon but still gained plenty of altitude on a climbing adventure last week.
He climbed his owners’ 11-metre palm tree in Cowper St, was missing for hours and had to be rescued by the Devonport Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Jeremy Tapsell and son Louis heard their missing moggie meowing but didn’t know where he was. When Louis’ mum Lydia Cowpertwait got home and heard further meowing, she joined the hunt.
“We all searched for him,” she said. “That’s when Jeremy realised where he was. We estimate he was up there for nearly five hours.”
Astro, who has just turned one, has had other slightly less risky adventures in his short life, getting stuck up another tree in the garden.
“We thought he was stuck up the same tree again until we saw him all the way up in the palm,” Cowpertwait said. “It was quite a shock when we realised.” The family called the fire brigade who used a long extension ladder to effect a rescue.
Astro belongs to Louis and sister Ella, who along with friend Isla McDonald, who was visiting, were delighted to see him back on the ground. As an added pre-Christmas bonus, the brigade gave the children a ride in their fire engine.
Astro’s name seems to fit his sense of adventure. He has a sister called ‘Coco’ who so far she hasn’t required any emergency callouts. “Coco is much more cautious with tree climbing and would never have gone that high up,” Cowpertwait said.