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Company sends bucket truck to rescue cat that stayed in tree for a week

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — A cat that eluded residents in Atlantic Beach for almost a week was rescued by a tree company with a bucket truck Tuesday.

Before the cat was rescued by a worker with Branch Manager Tree Service, residents tried many measures to get the cat down from the tree over the course of several days.

Danny Simmons, who said he heard the cat’s cries, looked up and saw him sitting on a branch high in the tree, said he called animal control and the city.

Animal control officials said the agency doesn’t send people to get cats out of trees.

The city offered him a cat trap, but Simmons said neighbors had already tried that.

Simmons then turned to social media for help. The next thing he knew, people were coming to climb the tree to try to save the cat. But they were unsuccessful.

Firefighters also came out to see if they could help but the tree was hollow in some parts and it wasn’t safe to for a firefighter to climb it.

That didn’t stop another resident from giving it another try.

After that and several other attempts by would-be rescuers, the cat went too high to reach and stayed there until a person with the tree service got him down.