Rescuers hope trail of tuna on bridge will tempt down kitten who has spent five days in palm tree

A kitten remains defiant atop a phoenix palm in Waitara, New Zealand. The mysterious moggie, believed to be a 4-month-old stray, has now spent five days in the 10-metre tall tree, and has ignored all attempts to coax it down. The SPCA revisited the scene along with the fire brigade on Wednesday, and built the kitten a bridge to freedom. A plank smeared with tuna has been secured halfway up the tree, leading to a nearby chimney.



SPCA spokeswoman Jackie Poles Smith confirmed the kitten was still in the tree and was refusing to budge. "We saw the kitten, so it's still up there, so we have built it a bridge," Ms Poles Smith said. "We are quite confident that it's going to come down." She said the kitten was in good condition and there were no concerns for its safety at this stage.



A trail of tuna had been left along the bridge and Ms Poles Smith said the method had worked before. "We'd like to see him down, especially in this weather, but he's got lots of shelter up there, got lots of moisture and now he's got lots of food." Ms Poles Smith said the SPCA appreciated the help it had had from the fire service and a tree specialist in its attempts to rescue the young cat.


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Sue Kepa, who discovered the kitten's plight on Saturday, was impressed with the effort that had been put into trying to get the feline down. "They haven't given up," Ms Kepa said. "They've tried but as soon as they get close to it, the cat takes off." She said she would be keeping an eye on the tree to see if the kitten came down. "It would be nice to know it's safe and sound." Residents had tried to get the kitten down using food, and attempted to reach it with ladders but to had had no success. The SPCA first visited the site on Monday and used a cherry picker to try to pluck the kitten from its perch but their efforts were in vain.