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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

What goes up must come down? Stupid Cat on stupid roof

31 replies

Slambang · 21/03/2011 21:34

Stupid Cat has now been on the roof of our house crying for 4 hours or so, not for the first time - stupid Stupid Cat. Last time luckily a friendly roofer was working on a nearby building and he came to the rescue with his big ladder(got scratched for his efforts). This time there are no roofers and Stupid Cat is not brave enough to make the 2 metre jump she needs to do to get down onto a lower roof.
The neighbours have been knocking on the door - did you know SC is on your roof? There's no way I can get up there. SC says no way she can get down. I've tried calling, shaking bits of food, opening windows below her and ignoring her. She is still wailing piteously. So what next? How long do I let her stay up before I have to pay for a man with a ladder?

OP posts:
FourFortyFour · 21/03/2011 21:36

A net?

Original poster
Slambang · 21/03/2011 21:44

A big fishing net to scoop her off the roof or stand underneath holding a net and shouting 'Jump!'

But actually I don't have a net.

OP posts:
follyfoot · 21/03/2011 21:50

Our elderly cat got stuck up a huge pine tree, was there at least 24 hours. Rang the RSPCA who called the fire brigade. They arrived with blue lights Grin

One of the lovely firemen climbed the tree and carried her down for us. Aaaaah

Original poster
Slambang · 21/03/2011 21:55

Oh, I thought the Fire Brigade didn't do stuck cats any more and the RSPCA made you wait 48 hours. That's good news. I'm worried if SC gets 'rescued' she'll just go up there again and again.

OP posts:
follyfoot · 21/03/2011 22:08

I think the fire brigade will still come if the RSPCA call them, but not if you call them. Thats what the RSPCA lady told me anyway. You could always say she has been up there a bit longer than she has wait and see for a bit longer. Best of luck.

Original poster
Slambang · 21/03/2011 22:11

Thanks Folly. I think I'm not going to do anything yet and let her sit it out for tonight. It's not cold and maybe hunger will make her braver. (I want her to suffer learn.)

OP posts:
DaphneHeartsFred · 21/03/2011 22:12

Have you got anything to put close by as a 'half-way' jump?

I would think that now she's been up there for 34 hours the RSPCA might help. Wink

Original poster
Slambang · 21/03/2011 22:13

Only 4 hours Daphne! (More like 6 now)

OP posts:
Hassled · 21/03/2011 22:15

I agree with the making her learn approach. But if she yowls all night someone will try to kill either her or you. Do you have a water pistol with the power to reach the roof? Or is that too cruel to be kind?

Maryz · 21/03/2011 22:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DaphneHeartsFred · 21/03/2011 22:23

Ah but do the RSPCA know it's really only 4 (6) hours?

edam · 21/03/2011 22:25

Maryz, wow. Proof that tough love works!

Fingers crossed Stupid Cat figures it out soon. One of my childhood cats used to get stuck up trees. Her mother would climb up and down repeatedly, miaowing and reassuing this cat that it was fine, and this is how you do it, but daft cat (who was an adult by this stage) didn't believe her. My dad was up and down that ladder so often we used to joke he should have taken up window cleaning...

CarGirl · 21/03/2011 22:25

Stick your wheelie bin under the eaves bit so there is a half way jump.

My girl cat regularly leapt out of the first floor window onto our stacked recycling crates so base of roof to wheelie bind should be doable.

sharbie · 21/03/2011 22:29

my mad ginger cat runs up the pergola (vertically) and onto our bungalow roof and then jumps off (about 9 feet) so they can get down Smile good luck

Original poster
Slambang · 21/03/2011 22:29

Hassled, I wouldn't be passed squirting her but I think it would drive her up and away from the bit she needs to access to get down so wouldn't help.

Daphne, the halfway jump is a good idea but she has to jump from a higher sloping roof onto a lower sloping bit so I'm not sure if I can get something up onto the lower bit. That's a project for tomorrow in daylight I think.

OP posts:
CarGirl · 21/03/2011 22:30

ear plugs for the night I reckon Grin

Maryz · 21/03/2011 22:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Slambang · 21/03/2011 22:34

Ear plugs for the neighbours too I think.

OP posts:
CarGirl · 21/03/2011 22:44

Take them flowers and wine for their understanding of stupid cat driving them as crazy as you for the night.

spiderlight · 21/03/2011 22:50

I had to get the fire brigade out once, to my cat who had got herself locked inside a warehouse and was claiming to be stuck half-way out of a broken second floor window with a sheer drop onto concrete, If she'd just been in the warehouse I'd have left her to it because she'd spent several nights shut in there before, but she was hanging out of the window shouting for ages and she really did look properly stuck....until the fire engine arrived and the ladder went up, at which point she went 'OK, I don't like the look of that' and calmly popped back in through the window. I tried to send the firemen away but they said they weren't allowed to go until she was officially rescued, so they phoned and got the owner of the warehouse out of bed and made him drive right across from the other side of the city to open up and let her out. I was mortified.

All of which is no help at all with Stupid Cat, sorry! I hope you get her down soon.

Original poster
Slambang · 21/03/2011 22:54

Ha Spider! They're not stupid at all. They're laughing at us!

OP posts:
CarGirl · 21/03/2011 22:57

He'll be expecting royal treatment including fresh fish when he's back Grin

Original poster
Slambang · 22/03/2011 09:34

News flash!

Stupid Cat is down safe and well and has already forgotten all about it.

I had one last try last night and went with the half way step idea. The only access was a small top-opening window. I could just slide the full length bedroom mirror out of the window holding onto one end and luckily Stupid Cat got the message and jumped down onto the other end. But she was still Too Stupid to jump off it and down onto the lower roof even though it was now much closer - so, there I was stood in the bedroom holding a mirror above head height out of a window with a cat making herself comfortable on the other end. Did what I had to do and slowly pulled the mirror back in, with SC frantically scrabbling to keep hold. There was a comedy moment when I had to push her off the end and she clung on for dear life yowling but she finally made it and is now happily sitting inside on the other side of the window, watching the birds that she followed up there in the first place. Smile

Thanks for all your help and stories.

OP posts:
FourFortyFour · 22/03/2011 10:48

Cats are really really naughty funny.

Themumsnot · 22/03/2011 10:52

PMSL. That took real dedication.

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