Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal
The cat stranded atop a nearly 50-foot power pole for at least two days was rescued Friday morning by an NV Energy line crew, said spokesman Karl Walquist.
After recieiving several calls from the public calling for action, the crew went out around 8:10 a.m.
"The lineman went up in a bucket and got the cat," Walquist reported. "They lowered the cat to the ground, and it ran away."
The first reported sighting of the cat on the power pole near the intersection of Roop Street and Northridge Drive was Wednesday morning.
Susan Antipa said she was looking for hawks on the power poles on her drive to work Wednesday when she spotted the stranded feline.
She called the power company that morning and again that evening, she said, but was told it was too high and too dangerous.
When she saw the cat again Thursday, she called again.
Walquist said the company doesn't have a policy regarding stranded animals, but deals with them on a case-by-case basis.
"Each case is handled at the discretion of the employees," he said. "They decide if the situation is safe enough."
He said there have only been a few instances of a cat stuck on a pole in the last several years.
He said cats are usually chased up the poles and usually come down on their own.
Anneliese Puthe of Carson City was among several to call or e-mail the Nevada Appeal with possible solutions.
When she learned the cat had already been lowered to the ground, she said, "Oh good, good, good, good good. Everybody read this, and they were real disheartened. We're animal lovers around here."
- Contact reporter Teri Vance at tvance@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1272.