Cat rescued from tree in Harlem after residents say nobody would help

NEW YORK -- A black cat with more than her share of bad luck got shaken out of a tree Friday by careful cops — after huddling there for more than 24 hours, Harlem residents said.

“I reported the cat, and each time they said it wasn’t their job,” said Marie Branch, 46.

 

Branch said she called 311, as well as the ASPCA and animal control, but those claims could not immediately be confirmed.


Police records show the first call to 911 came around 5 p.m. on Friday and cops were quick to get to the scene.

Jimbo, 2, who has a few white patches, climbed up the tree Thursday around 2 p.m. and refused to come down.

Owner Lincoln Francis, 61, despaired of getting his cat back.

“If she fell from all the way up there, it wouldn’t be a nice thing,” said Francis.

His neighbors were equally worried.

“They said ‘put food down,’ but another cat took it,” Branch said

When someone called 911 Friday, cops from the 25th Precinct unit got there in five minutes, residents said.

 

Sgt. Stacey Hernandez brought a cherry-picker, and cops shook Jimbo safely into a net held by police as cheers broke out from the crowd.

“I’m happy,” Francis said, cradling Jimbo.

(New York Daily News - May 23, 2015)