Peterborough road without power as cat stuck on 11,000-volt power line power line rescued after three days

A “tired and hungry” cat has been rescued after she was stuck at the top of an overhead power line in Peterborough for three days.

The rescue took place in Northam Close on June 1 after the RSPCA were contacted by a concerned member of the public who had seen the perilous situation the cat had got itself into.

The animal welfare charity attended the scene and called UK Power Network, who turned off power to 13 homes in the area for around an hour while the rescue took place.

They managed to reach and retrieve the cat from the top of the 20ft, 11,000-volt power line using a cherry picker.

The cat, whose name is unknown to this newspaper, was taken into the RSPCA’s care and later returned safely to its owner.

A spokesperson for UK Power Networks said: “Carl Curtis, an overhead linesman, was one of the team on the scene and he put on his leather gauntlets and was elevated to the top of the pole in the cherry picker.

“He was able to grab the cat and went to put it in the RSPCA cage. He was about to shut the door when it jumped out and had to be caught and put back in.

“Carl said ‘it was happy to be rescued and came to me but not happy to be put in the cage. I caught it, put it back in and shut the door.’”

RSPCA inspector Laura Jones, who attended the incident with RSPCA trainee animal rescue officer Dan Holman, said: “This poor cat is believed to have been stuck on the pole for some three days.

“UK Power Network attended and were brilliant.

“They handed the cat to me and she was doing well, despite her ordeal but she was tired, hungry and thirsty.

“She was taken into RSPCA care and I am happy to report she has since been reunited with her owner. It was a great rescue and we are grateful to all involved.”