Some cats are roamers; there’s nothing they love more than going on a jaunt and exploring the world. Gypsy, an adorable, black-and-white kitty from Phoenix, Arizona, is definitely one of these wandering types.
According to Jenny Hardin and Ash Morgan, Gypsy is an outdoor cat who comes and goes as he pleases. He has tons of human friends and adores roaming the neighborhood streets. “Everyone loves him,” Jenny told 12 News.
This past weekend, however, Gypsy may have been a bit too adventurous in his travels— finding himself stuck on the top of a utility pole for three long days.
Gypsy left his home on Friday night. When he didn’t return over the weekend, people assumed he was just outside playing his usual kitty games. It turns out, however, that Gypsy had climbed up a utility pole and had absolutely no way of getting back down.
Jeff Lane, a spokesperson for Salt River Project utility company, told AZ Central that it’s fairly common for cats to climb up utility poles. Generally, it’s encouraged you put some food and water down there to coax it down. On Monday morning, when Gypsy still had not descended, people in neighboring houses decided to call for help.
ABC News arrived on the scene and streamed the event live on Facebook. Thousands tuned in to watch “Phoenix Cat” as he awaited rescue on the top of the pole.
Neighbors say a cat has been stuck atop a power pole since Friday; a utility worker has been dispatched to lure the “community” feline down, KNXV reports. https://t.co/HVaDpvjYUs pic.twitter.com/rdkrHtcl6I
— ABC News (@ABC) March 26, 2018
As people tuned into ABC’s live stream, they couldn’t understand why help was taking so long. Enraged animal lovers flooded the mayor and fire department with calls, demanding the cat be saved immediately.
Biggest story in AZ as of 10AM today: Cat stuck on pole. #abc15 #HappyMonday pic.twitter.com/WaYqWResHK
— Ameema Ahmed (@ameema22) March 26, 2018
By this time, a crowd had gathered at the bottom of Gypsy’s pole. People were impatient with how long help was taking and decided to take things into their own hands. Vigilante rescuers send up a bucket.
Gypsy does not look impressed.
Nope, looks like little Gypsy was expecting a more personal approach!
This is right around the time that ABC’s live stream cut out. Luckily, however, Fox 12 Phoenix had gotten wind of the situation and were there to capture the happy ending.
A mystery hero leans a ladder against the pole, climbing up as far as he can go. When he gets to the top, he reaches for Gypsy, but he still can’t reach the poor, exhausted cat.
The hero was determined, though! Wearing absolutely no harness, he steps up on to the ladder’s last, creaking rung.
He somehow manages to get a grip on Gypsy’s shoulder. From there, the mystery hero tucks the cat under his arm and climbs them down to safety.
People everywhere were so happy to see Gypsy rescued! A few comments on the video read:
“Give that man a medal!”
“Amazingly he saved cat’s life”
“Thank You Jesus, God Bless You Sir”
“God bless you!!!”
Ash told 12 News, that Gypsy’s rescue is “a sigh of relief”, and it’s nice to see people still care about cats.
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