Specialist team rescues cat trapped by harness in Turku overnight

A high-angle rescue specialist climbed ten metres up a pine tree in Turku early Sunday to free a cat tangled in its own leash, with the animal eventually falling safely into the rescuer’s arms, reports Finnish public broadcaster Yle.

The operation in Turku’s Jäkärlä district lasted two hours after the cat, which had escaped from its owner on Sunday evening, became stuck in the branches. Rescue services initially waited to see if the cat would descend on its own, but the leash had become too tightly entangled.

“As is typical for cats, it climbed higher to escape rescue attempts, which only worsened the tangle,” said fire chief Tarmo Katajamaa of the Southwest Finland Rescue Department.

Since a standard aerial lift could not reach the tree, a specialist team from Raisio fire station—equipped for high-angle rescues—was called in. The rescuer wore spiked climbing boots and used ropes, harnesses, and a telescopic pole to ascend the pine.

“The trunk was thick enough to climb, though some branches had to be cleared for progress,” Katajamaa explained.

Though prepared to secure the cat in an animal carrier, the rescuer instead used the telescopic pole to dislodge it. The cat fell directly into the rescuer’s arms before being safely returned to its owner, uninjured. Katajamaa noted this was the first such case he had encountered where a cat’s harness had trapped it in a tree.