How Josh saved Little Kitty (4 photos)

As he clung to the branches at the top of a five-storey evergreen on Hamilton Avenue this morning, Josh Printess says he felt like he was on top of the city.

But he wasn’t there for the view. He was there to save Little Kitty.

He broke off a branch to use as a lure to get the cat to come closer. When it approached, he made his move.

“I just grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and cradled it in my arm and made my way down the tree with the other hand,” said Printess.

He made it to the ground, and handed the cat over to its owner - a complete stranger.

Fifteen minutes earlier, Printess had been at home in the west end checking out Facebook when he came across a post about a cat stuck in a tree.

Printess had just come home from a night shift at Lowe’s, but he lost his cat, Chevy, last summer and said he was drawn to the idea of helping someone else bring their pet home safely.

Plus, “I always loved climbing trees when I was younger,” said Printess, 23.

Marilyn Davie, a Hamilton Avenue resident who had posted the plea for help on the Sault Ste. Marie - Lost & Found Pets Facebook group, said she knew someone from the group would find a way to help.

But she wasn’t expecting Printess to climb the tree himself.

“It was pretty incredible - especially to go up that high,” said Davie, who posts on the group under the name Brianne Davis.

Davie said the kitten belonged to a neighbour. She had heard it crying when she was coming and going from her home.

“You could tell she was in pretty big distress. She wasn’t coming down (on her own) but she wanted down,” said Davie.

Printess said when he gave the cat back to the owner he told him someone else had tried to retrieve the cat the day before, but the animal had only gone higher.

As for the climb, Printess said it didn’t take him long to get back into his childhood form.

“Once I started climbing I just got into the groove and kept going,” said Printess.