Fire crews were called to help a cat that got stuck up a tree in Rochdale – but first they had to rescue its owner.
The animal became trapped 10 metres up in Further Heights Road on Monday (February 15).
A woman called the RSPCA after spotting the pet in a tree in her garden.
She believed he had been there for five days.
Animal rescuer Stephen Wickham was on his way when he then received a call from Greater Manchester Fire Service.
Fire officers said they were already at the scene as the cat’s owner had tried to rescue his pet and got stuck up the tree.
They used a 10-metre ladder to reach the man and he was able to make his way down to safety.
When a firefighter went to reach the cat, the frightened feline fell from his branch and landed on one below.
Luckily, he was able to jump down to safety.
Mr Wickham said: “I have worked for the RSPCA for 25 years and in that time, I have been called to numerous cat rescues - but this is only the second time in my career I have been to a rescue where the poor owner had also got stuck up the tree too.
“In this case the owner had to be rescued from danger and as it turned out the cat managed to get down himself.
“In a vast majority of cases cats are very capable of getting themselves down from a tree, so unless there are special circumstances, we advise owners to try and coax their pet down with strong smelling food like fish and if that doesn’t work to give us a call back after 24 hours.
“After that time an RSPCA officer will then visit to see if we can help but it is important that people should not try to rescue a cat from a tree themselves.
“The RSPCA and fire service are fully trained to safely deal with these kinds of incidents.”
