In nearly every movie where a cat gets stuck in a tree, the fire department comes rushing to the rescue.
In reality, that’s rarely how it works.
For thousands of cat owners across Washington State, the people answering those frantic calls are Shaun Sears, Tom Otto, and the team at Canopy Cat Rescue. As professional arborists, they’ve spent more than 15 years climbing towering Douglas firs, navigating rooftops, and rescuing cats from places most of us wouldn’t dare climb ourselves.
What began as a simple desire to help cat owners who had nowhere else to turn has grown into a full-time nonprofit that now performs close to 900 rescues every year—all funded entirely through donations.
We were thrilled to learn more about their incredible work, the unforgettable cats they’ve met along the way, and why rescuing the owners can sometimes be just as important as rescuing the cat.
How Canopy Cat Rescue Began
The idea behind Canopy Cat Rescue was surprisingly simple.
Shaun and Tom kept seeing the same problem over and over again: people desperately searching for someone—anyone—who could help get their cat safely back down.
“We started in 2009 after realizing how hard it was for people to find help for their stuck cats,” shared Shaun. “We wanted to be the solution for cat owners when they found themselves in this situation. A lot of people still think that you call the fire department and, in reality, a very low percentage of fire departments will help with a stuck cat.”
Today, they are a four-person team covering an enormous service area throughout Washington.
Climbing Trees Is Only Half the Job
Most people imagine the difficult part is reaching a cat perched high in a tree.
According to Shaun, that’s often only the beginning.
Understanding feline behavior is just as important as knowing how to climb.
“We are really good at reading cat behavior, and that lets us know exactly how the rescue will go.
We also have a specific way in which we handle the cat. Normally we don’t scruff the cat—we pick them up as you normally would and secure their paws with our hand.
If you only know how to scruff the cat, a lot of times it turns into a battle and the cat will grab at the tree or even you.”
The equipment itself is similar to what any professional arborist would carry.
“We use all the normal equipment a professional tree climber uses: harness, rope, ascenders, helmet, throwline, and big slingshot.
The most important piece of gear is the special cat rescue sack we use, or the rescue net that helps us rescue cats that are out of reach.”
Nearly 200 Feet in the Air
While most rescues happen somewhere around 50 to 60 feet above the ground, not every cat makes things easy.
Some climb astonishing heights.
“A while back I rescued a cat that was around 190 feet in a tree,” Shaun explains. “Tom did one that he thinks was 185 feet, estimated by his rope lengths. At those heights, everything is more severe—tree stability, risk of the cat jumping, and all aspects of weather like wind or rain.
Thankfully, our average is much lower, around 50/60 feet.”
Every Cat Is Different
One of Shaun’s favorite parts of the job is that no two rescues are ever the same. Cats react in completely different ways once someone finally reaches them.
“The personality of the cats and what they do in the tree has such a wide range.
A big risk for a nervous kitty is that sometimes they will pee and there is no escaping the stream. Other times they will get so excited about their ride down that they will come and jump right on your lap.”
And then there are the owners.
“The owners can be quite entertaining also—from the way they call their cat to the emotion surrounding the situation.”
Yes… Some Cats Never Learn
Not every rescue is a one-time event.
In fact, Canopy Cat Rescue estimates around 15% of the calls they receive each year involve repeat offenders, and they’ve even rescued a few cats over five times!
Apparently, some cats simply refuse to stay out of the tree and seem to think they are leopards trapped in house cats’ bodies.
Sometimes the Owners Need the Most Help
One thing Shaun has learned over the years is that rescuing cats isn’t always the hardest part of the job.
Often, it’s reassuring the people waiting on the ground.
Shaun tells us that “this is very common, and it all starts with a frantic phone call. We are really good with the cats, but being able to be a calming, understanding voice on the phone and on scene is very important also. Often there are lots of tears and hugs from happy reunions.”
It’s these reunions that continue to make the work worthwhile after thousands of rescues.
What Happens When Nobody Knows the Cat?
Not every cat waiting in a tree has an owner standing beneath it.
Canopy Cat Rescue regularly receives calls about unknown cats, and over the years they’ve developed a surprisingly successful system for getting them home.
“We rescue many unknown cats. We don’t often take cats to shelters because we’ve found the cats live very close to where they are in the tree. Often we enlist the help of the person calling to go door to door and check with neighbors to find the cat’s owner.
We are equipped with microchip scanners, and those have been very helpful in finding the cats’ owners.”
From Local Rescue to Animal Planet
One milestone Shaun never imagined was starring in an Animal Planet television series.
In 2015, Canopy Cat Rescue became the focus of Treetop Cat Rescue, introducing their work to audiences around the world.
“We have a family member who has a friend that worked for a production company in LA, and she told them about what we do, and they were immediately interested.
The year we did our TV show, we completed 260 rescues. Now we average between 850 and 900 a year, so that exposure has really helped us grow.”
Powered Entirely by Donations
Although they perform hundreds of rescues every year, Canopy Cat Rescue doesn’t charge for its services.
Instead, the nonprofit relies entirely on donations from people who believe in the mission.
“We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. People can donate to support what we do in person or on our website.
Sometimes we get a dozen eggs or a pocket full of change. Other times we’ll get a piece of art from the owner.
Being a nonprofit, people donate to us from all over the world—even if they’ve never used our service. They’ll see our posts online and just really love that we are out there helping.”
And the biggest ongoing expense? Keeping the rescue vehicles on the road.
Looking Ahead
More than anything, Shaun hopes Canopy Cat Rescue can continue growing so that even more cats have someone to call when they need help.
“We hope to train more people in the future in other states and also in our state to expand the ability to help more cats.”
After all, every cat deserves a safe way back down.
For more from Canopy Cat Rescue, visit on all of our social media pages or website.
Facebook: @canopycatrescue
Instagram: @canopycatrescue
YouTube:@canopycatrescue
Website: https://www.canopycatrescue.com/
Or send them an email at Canopycatrescue@gmail.com
How Canopy Cat Rescue Began
