Southampton man climbs tree to rescue stuck cat

Billy Cross, 31, has been praised after climbing a 15m tree in Hoglands Park after the black and white feline had been trapped all day.

The tree surgeon, whose cat had been hit by a car just days before, got called out by his sister Kara around 6.30pm last Thursday while visiting his father and didn’t give it a second thought.

At the scene, representatives from the charity Cat Welfare Group were looking out for the animal to make sure it was kept safe.

He said: “I got the call from my sister because she's seen a post on Facebook with a message saying that a cat was stuck in the tree.

“I was in Bursledon when I received the news, and I just went straight out to do it.

“Recently my cat got hit by a car, so I know what it's like to have something happen to your cat, so I thought of helping as much as I can.”

Billy Cross, 31 climbing the tree at Hoglands Park (Image: Billy Cross)

When Billy arrived at the scene, he wasted no time rescuing the scared feline.

He said: “I got out my harness, put the ropes on the tree and put on my work boots. It was raining but I don't mind a bit of rain, it’s just another day in the office.

“Fortunately, [the cat] wasn’t injured, just scared and soaking wet as it had been up there all day.

“I was up there for about an hour because I had to get up, and when I got up there, the cat climbed to the other tree.

“It took a bit of time so I then bent the branch a bit so that the cat couldn’t move anywhere else apart from the basket.

Billy Cross rescuing the black and white cat from the tree (Image: Billy Cross)

Billy Cross holding the cage with the cat inside (Image: Billy Cross)

He added: “Then once it got in, I brought it safely down and done.”

Lorri Seymour-Baynes, CEO of Cat Welfare Group, said: “We said to him: you're an absolute superhero.

“Unfortunately, we see such awful cruelty day in and day out with what we do.

“So just his thing of doing it in his free time for nothing and won't charge you. Just absolutely restores our faith in human beings for doing something for no gain tip to anybody.”