Firefighters in Los Angeles are urging residents not to climb tall trees in an effort to rescue stranded cats.
On Wednesday, Aug. 27, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call in the North Hills neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley after a man attempted to retrieve a cat named Nova, according to KTLA and NBC Los Angeles.
Neighbors said Nova had been stuck at the top of the tree for at least one or two days. “The cat’s been crying since yesterday,” one resident told NBC Los Angeles. Video from the outlet captured the black-and-white feline meowing loudly.
By that evening, the man — who lives in a nearby building — decided to scale the tree himself to rescue Nova, but he became trapped and was unable to get down.
After nearly two hours, firefighters used a ladder to bring the man to safety. However, electrical wires around the tree prevented them from reaching the cat, the department told PEOPLE.
The man escaped without injury, and by Thursday afternoon, Nova climbed down on her own, according to the outlets.
In a statement to PEOPLE, the LAFD explained that its main concern in such cases is human safety:
“The Los Angeles Fire Department loves animals, but our first priority is always public safety. In this incident, firefighters safely rescued the individual who climbed the tree, as people attempting to help are often at the greatest risk of injury. From experience, cats almost always come down on their own when ready. Each situation is assessed by the incident commander, who determines what actions are safe and appropriate. While we share the community’s concern for pets, our focus remains on protecting lives, both human and animal, safely.”
The department reinforced this message on Instagram, posting a video of the man’s rescue and warning pet owners not to put themselves in harm’s way.
“Rescuing the well-intending rescuer — this is often the reason Your LAFD responds to animal rescues. In our experience, the cat will come down when it is ready (hungry, thirsty, etc). Promise,” the post read. “However, the PEOPLE trying to resolve the issue for the cat are the ones at highest risk of injury. Fortunately, this individual was safely brought down with no injuries but it doesn’t always play out that way. Cats have been climbing trees long before fire departments had ladders long enough to reach them. Let cats be cats. They have nine lives, you only have one.”
