Owner gets stuck up tree trying to rescue own cat

Maria Parry said she was relieved to have Harry home

A pet owner had to be rescued from a tree after climbing it to free her missing cat.

Maria Parry spent "three days of searching and no sleep" after Harry the tabby disappeared from her home in Fareham, Hampshire.

When she found the bedraggled moggy in a back garden she climbed the tree "by instinct" to comfort him before getting stuck herself.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said the pair were rescued using a ladder.

Harry the tabby cat had been missing for three days

Firefighters used a ladder to rescue the pair

Mrs Parry mounted her ill-fated bid to free the feline just before midday on Thursday.

"It was instinct, I wasn't thinking - he was shaking, I just tried to calm him and I before I know it I was climbing the tree," she said.

When the branches started swaying, Mrs Parry said, she lost her nerve.

"I was 'oh my God, It's really high, I cant get down - I'm really scared."

Deborah Baxter, a hypnotherapist who works in neighbouring house, gave Mrs Parry a cat basket when she arrived at the garden.

"To my horror, 45 minutes later I saw the cat basket still on the ground - where's the cat? Up the tree. Where's the lady? Up the tree."

"Her poor husband is running up the street going into gardens to try to find his wife.

"Harry was not budging, the poor little mite. We can laugh about it now because it had a happy ending.

"The fire brigade were absolutely brilliant - it was quite precarious," she said.