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Cat rescued from 30-foot power pole in Kelowna

The cat ran away into the bushes once it was freed from the pole
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Cat stuck atop a power pole was rescued on Aug. 13.

A cat that may have been stuck up a power pole for more than 24 hours was rescued thanks to an animal charity, FortisBC and Telus working together. 

A man on his way to work Tuesday at about 7:30 a.m. noticed the black feline atop about a 30-foot power pole on Gibson Road. 

He called Okanagan Humane Society to see if they could help get the cat down, as residents in the neighbourhood had commented that coyotes live in the area and possibly chased the pet up the pole. 

OHS president Romany Runnalls quickly got a group of volunteers to spring into action and head over to the area. 

The cat could be seen panting and appeared to be quite hot sitting in the open sunlight, with its all-black fur. 

Volunteers noticed the power pole was owned by FortisBC and that the utility company would be the only one to access the pole. 

“FortisBC answered our call and they sent a crew out as soon as they could,” said Runnalls. 

Luckily the lines to the pole didn’t have to be de-energized and instead, a bucket truck owned by Telus was called in to assist. 

“Once the Telus employee coaxed him into the bucket the cat was more than happy to be collected from the pole,” explained Runnalls. 

However, despite the Telus’ employees best efforts to calm the cat, when the buck was about 10 feet from the ground, the feline sprang from the employee’s grasp, jumped to the ground and ran into the bushes. 

Unfortunately, the cat couldn’t be found by OHS volunteers, but those in the neighbourhood said they see the fluffy fellow often and he lives nearby. 

Runnalls was thankful to FortisBC for answering their call to help the stuck cat and mentioned the utility company has come through in the past to assist the charity when needed. 

 

 

 



Jen Zielinski

About the Author: Jen Zielinski

I am a broadcast journalism graduate from BCIT and hold a bachelor of arts degree in political science and sociology from Thompson Rivers University. I enjoy volunteering with local organizations, such as the Okanagan Humane Society.
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