An armed response officer from Atlas Security in Port Elizabeth learned that there was more than one way to skin a cat.
The officer, known to his colleagues as B14, was flagged down by a fieldworker for Cat Care on Monday, who struggled for hours to lure a cat out of a tree just off Buffelsfontein Road in Walmer close to Builders Warehouse.
Chenel Robey, who volunteers for Cat Care by trapping wild cats to have them sterilized said she got a call from a lady in Greenshields Park who heard the cat’s desperate pleas for freedom.
Robey says she immediately arrived at the scene with a bucket of food, full of confidence that she would be able to lure the cat out of the tree.
She said the cat, however, was so scared and literally would not move.
Robey said it was then when she flagged down an Atlas response officer who drove past the scene to ask him for a ladder.
The cat, who was drenched from the rain, was desperately holding on to the branches he admired just hours ago.
The Armed response officer, who happens to love cats, stopped at the scene, grabbed his ladder, and climbed up the tree.
Robey says “Officer B14” managed to grab the kitten and then passed it on to her.
She says the cat was so scared that he scratched her and fled the scene.
Group Marketing Manager for Atlas Security Wayne Hart said while this was obviously not their core mandate, they were also members of the community and their armed Response officers will often go above and beyond to assist where they can.
Hart said a vulnerable animal was in need and they did not hesitate to jump in.
He commended “officer B14” for his efforts.
Robey urged more volunteers to join their plight.
The identity of the cat is unknown at this stage.
