Fire crews are now spending record amount of time and money on rescuing cats from trees – including more than £500,000 in London in just one year after post-pandemic pet boom

Firefighters are spending record amounts of time and money on rescuing cats stuck in trees this year.

London Fire Brigade spent more than 76,600 minutes – which equals out to 53 days -assisting with animal incidents.

Of these, 716 events were cat-related and is more than in any other year that data was recorded. 

The amount of cats needing to be saved in the capital has more than doubled in four years while the cost of doing so has tripled.

Cat rescues included incidents where they were stuck in chimneys, inside walls, in chairs, under or inside cars, and on roofs.

And there were 87 cats stuck in trees which cost the LFB more than £41,000.

Daniel Warren-Cummings, a behaviourist at Cats Protection, told The Telegraph: ‘Cats are built for climbing up and not climbing down, which is why they can get stuck.'

The surge in rescues follows a post-pandemic boom in people wanting pets.

In November, an adorable black cat named John had to be rescued by firefighters after she became stuck in a drainpipe.

John, who is a female, was found with her head poking through one end of a drainpipe in a garage in Clevedon, Somerset.

Firefighters used ladders to reach John and cut her free using small tools, however they had to take a section of the drainpipe out with her.

The crew said cutting the section of pipe out with John still inside was ‘the easiest and least distressing option'.

She was then rushed to a local vet, who sedated John and removed the rest of the pipe from her neck.

Amazingly, John had no injuries and was returned to her owner.

The fire crew later posted pictures of John with her head poking out of the pipe.

They also showed the heart-warming moment she was finally cut free.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: ‘Firefighters love animals and we are ready, willing and able to assist distressed or injured animals if needed.

‘A lot of the animal rescue incidents we attend are large animals in serious distress such as horses stuck in muddy ditches or animals who have got themselves into water – animals which could die if we didn't attend.

‘The last thing we want is for people to put themselves at risk rescuing an animal themselves – but we do encourage people to call the RSPCA in the first instance and we will assist if our specialist equipment is required.'