In the news business, the “cat stuck in a tree” story is sort of a running joke.
But in the case of a St. Cloud man, it’s not a laughing matter.
Bryan Gibson spent more than a week trying to find someone to help him get his beloved pet, Meme, out of a tree.
When he couldn’t get help, he went at it alone and in the process broke his back and ankle when he fell from the tree.
Bryan Gibson and his wife, Patricia Gibson, said Meme escaped through a hole in a screen enclosure.
They believe Meme, who is normally an indoor cat, was chased by neighborhood dogs and climbed all the way to the top of a pine tree.
“It just breaks my heart. She's my baby. When you think she's been up there eight days--no food, no water? It's torture,” said Patricia Gibson. “I haven't slept in days because I spend the whole night just praying and hoping she'll come down.”
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Climbing to get Meme didn't work--Bryan Gibson broke his spine and an ankle trying.
“The branch smashed, so I fell straight down,” he said.
His painkillers didn't help the fact that she was still up there.
“I've tried everything. I've called the fire department, I've called animal control. I've even called local trappers. No one can help us,” he said.
When he ran out of options, he called Channel 9.
Enter Ron’s Quality Tree Service—like a kitty cavalry—who came to save the day.
Using ladders, ropes, carabiners and boot spikes, Nathan Riccard was up the tree in minutes, but it wasn’t easy.
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“As soon as I got up there, it (the cat) just kept climbing higher and higher. And it got to the very top of the tree and didn't have anywhere else to go,” he said.
He added that anyone without the proper gear and education shouldn’t climb a tree that high.
But climbing the tree was one thing--climbing down with one arm clinging to a scared and squirming clawed cat is what got a non-expert's back broken.
“Very dangerous, very dangerous. If you don't have the proper gear, you can get hurt,” said Riccard.
Patricia Gibson was grateful to have Meme in her arms again.
“You don't know how desperate the situation is. I mean, eight days. I really thought I was going to lose my baby,” she said.
The Gibsons said they could hear Meme crying every night from the bedroom window.
They're glad their nightmare is now over—and Bryan Gibson said he won't be climbing any more trees.
Cox Media Group
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