Cat comes down from tree in SC after 9 days

[April 20, 2011]  ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) -- Buster has finally come down from a 150-foot pine tree in northwestern South Carolina after nine days, but the cat's owners aren't happy with local officials.

Linda Megretto told the Anderson Independent-Mail she expected to find the cat dead Monday, but her husband climbed a 40-foot ladder and coaxed the cat down.

Megretto says Buster stayed in the tree through two storms after becoming afraid when a neighbor chased the cat from his barking dog.

She says she called the Humane Society, fire department, police and animal control and got no help.

Sheriff's spokesman Chad McBride says there's no record she called.

Fire Chief Billy Gibson says firefighters no longer respond to such calls because of liability issues. Gibson says putting food at the base of a tree usually works.

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Information from: Anderson Independent-Mail, http://www.andersonsc.com/

[Associated Press]

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