A CAT playing hide-and-seek on a 40-foot high rooftop was rescued thanks to the efforts of a local community – but you’d have to be eagle-eyed to spot her.
Bob Tobin was left spooked on Monday when he got a call from wife Amanda informing him that their cat, Shadow, had gotten stuck on the roof of their home in Rugby, Warwickshire.
The 51-year-old scrambled for options on how to get the two-year-old cat down, having learnt that she leapt out of a rooftop window after spotting a nearby bird and was now stuck beside the chimney.
Despite Shadow’s efforts to hide behind the chimney stack, she was spotted and eventually rescued by local business owner Sam German, 30, who brought a large ladder and coaxed the beloved pet down.
Bob revealed that his initial attempts to rescue Shadow included tempting her with treats and calling the fire brigade – who allegedly refused to come out unless requested by the RSPCA.
With the RSPCA not answering any calls, Bob was forced to take his plea to social media, where he wrote: “Anyone able to help? My cat is stuck on our roof extension, maybe 35-40 ft up.
“I don’t have a ladder long enough and not sure if it needs crawling boards as it is slate.
“RSPCA aren’t answering and Fire Brigade will only do anything if the RSPCA ask them. We are on Claremont Road near the train station.”
The post received dozens of likes and comments as locals rushed forward with suggestions – many of which included tagging Sam in the post.
Sure enough, Sam came to the rescue with a hefty ladder – climbing onto the roof and lifting her over to the window where Bob waited with open arms.
The moment was caught on camera, with elusive Shadow barely visible peeking out from the side of the house’s chimney stack, whilst further footage shows hero Sam scaling the roof.
Speaking to Bob today he said: “I got a call from my wife saying the cat was on the roof.
“I assumed the kitchen/extension roof but no, on the main roof of the house which is a 1920s terraced house – so 35/40 feet up.
“My son was in our bedroom (loft extension dormer) with our cat Shadow – the windows were open maybe 2-3cm, she saw a bird and jumped at it. The window pushed open and she fell out.
“She fell onto the section of roof just outside that dormer window, had a look around and was clearly scared. She ran up to the top of the house next to the chimney stack.
“We tried to call her back to the window as that was the only way down – to jump back up to the window.
“She tried coming back down towards it but slipped and then ran back up to the top and wouldn’t move.
“We called her and put some food out but she wouldn’t budge. To get down from there it was either straight down the front of the house or the back, or jump down to the kitchen roof.
“But that is a 15ft drop from one sloping roof to another. She didn’t move for about an hour while we were trying to figure out a way to get her down.
“I didn’t have a ladder anywhere near long enough to get up there and I didnt feel safe to do it.
“We rang the RSPCA – they were closed – so we rang the fire brigade and they said they would only turn up if the RSPCA asked them to and she would need to be up there at least 24 hours.
“I started ringing roofing companies – the first two said they didn’t rescue cats. So, then I thought I would ask on the Facebook group, see if anyone could help.
“Lots of people said ‘If they can get up there they can get down’ but she got up there by falling down. Getting the cat to understand the only way off the roof was to jump up was clearly going to be difficult.
“Then someone suggested Sam German, who is apparently a window cleaner. Within a few minutes he asked if she was still there.
“I posted some pictures of the front and back of the house to show the problem. Within 10 minutes, Sam had arrived.
“He had a look at the front and back and decided the back was the safer option as he could hold onto the loft extension. He went up and started edging his way closer to her.
“Normally, she would run from someone she doesn’t know but she didn’t move, she had wedged herself next to the chimney breast.
“He spent about 15 minutes edging closer and then rubbing her to calm her down.
“We then talked about how to get her down. Carrying her down the ladder was going to be dangerous for both of them – I had a cat carrier to put her in.
“Once he grabbed her he didn’t want to let go in case she ran off to another roof. So, he said he would lay on the flat roof and hang her over the window she jumped out of and I would grab her and pull her in.
“That was the safest option for Sam. If he dropped her she would likely fall on the roof she fell out on earlier – she was squirming so much and claws going everywhere and I couldn’t get here.
“Then, he shifted a bit more out and dropped her lower and I managed to grab her. She was a mixture of a ball of fear and rage and sprinted off and hid under a bed for hours.
“Once done, Sam wouldn’t accept anything to say thank you, even though he had used at least half an hour of his time. I guess we have found a new window cleaner from now on!”
Part-time pet rescuer Sam added today: “I was just finishing my day and several people were tagging me on the group where he mentioned the cat was stuck.
“As people know, I can access roofs – I could never see any pet of any kind stuck or in danger so I messaged Bob straight away and went to his address.
“The cat was petrified, I spent almost an hour on the roof with her trying to become friendly with her but she was petrified.
“I just spoke with the owners for a short while making sure the cat was okay. They tried to give me money which I turned down and just told them I was happy to help and save any injuries for the cat.”
