Cat is rescued from top of telephone pole in Waterport

Photos by Tom Rivers – Jeremy Arnold, owner of JG Tree Service, gets ready to catch a cat that had been stranded for nearly three days on top of a telephone pole in Waterport.

WATERPORT – After nearly three days on top of a telephone pole, Nora the cat was rescued late this morning by Jeremy Arnold, owner of a JG Tree Service in Holley.

Arnold, 27, has a bucket truck with a 60-foot ladder. He was happy to help after he heard the cat had been stuck and no one seemed willing to give a rescue a try.

“Everybody says it’s just a cat or an animal, but people get attached to their pets,” Arnold said after getting Nora down and handing her to her owner, Venita Nauden.

Venita Nauden is happy to be reunited with her cat, Nora.

Venita thanked Arnold and her neighbors for working to bring down the cat. Lauren Rayner, Nauden’s friend and neighbor, reached out to National Grid, the local fire company and animal shelters, but couldn’t sway anyone to try the rescue. The telephone pole had numerous wires including a transformer.

“It’s nice to see people help, otherwise the cat would have been left to die,” Rayner said.

The neighbors suspected a nearby dog chased the cat up the telephone pole. The cat was perched up there in the cold.

The cat was a little leery to come to Arnold, perhaps spooked by the hiss of the hydraulics with the bucket truck and a flock of geese that passed overhead during the rescue.

Nora didn’t immediately jump into Arnold’s arms. She seemed spooked by the noise from the hydraulics with the bucket truck. A big flock of geese also passed during the rescue attempt.

But after about five minutes, Nora came close to Arnold and he scooped her up.

“I’m just glad it worked out,” Arnold said. “I was worried she might get scared and take off running along the wires.”

Venita’s father Thad Nauden watched the rescue. He praised Arnold and Rayner for caring about the cat.

“I’m so appreciative for the tree surgeon and for my neighbor,” Mr. Nauden said. “I’m shocked that people would go to that extent. My daughter has been very upset about it because she is a cat lover.”

Arnold gets the truck set up on East Avenue while a small crowd gathers.