Frightened feline Frosty thankful as RSPCA and firefighters come to his aid

The RSPCA and firefighters rescued a cat who became stuck on a roof after climbing out of a skylight at his home in Yorkshire.

The charity was called out to help Frosty, a white cat, who was clinging in fear to the chimney stack of the property in Burton Stone Lane in York on May 2. The house cat had escaped out of the window, but was then unable to get back into the house.

Frosty, who is deaf, rarely ventures outside and didn’t heed the calls for help or the offers of food placed indoors by his owners.

The RSPCA always advises people to try and allow cats to make their own way down from heights and to try and tempt them with smelly treats before calling for help.

But frightened Frosty could not be coaxed down and had spent the night on the roof of the terrace property when the RSPCA and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service arrived. Fire officers used an aerial ladder platform to reach the cat and RSPCA trainee animal rescue officer (ARO) James Dack managed to take hold of the feline - who was unhurt despite his ordeal - and took him down to safety.

RSPCA inspector Claire Mitchell said: “Frosty was really scared and didn’t want to come back in for food. Because he is deaf he also didn’t respond to the calls of his worried owners.

“He’d jumped out onto the roof through an open skylight window and had been there overnight. While we tell people to try and encourage their cats to come down, he was stuck for over 24 hours and needed help.

“Our new recruit, James, went up on the platform. He is on a 17-week training course, so this was a good experience for him. He grabbed Frosty, put him in a basket and took him down to his owners (pictured above) who were delightedthey were worried as the cat usually doesn’t leave the house.”

The RSPCA works closely with the emergency services and is incredibly grateful for any help it receives. The charity can request the help of the fire and rescue service and some crews use animal rescues for training, but emergencies involving people always take their priority. n To help the RSPCA continue rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals in desperate need of care please visit our website http://www.rspca.org.uk/give or call our donation line on 0300 123 8181.