DIY or How To Really Get Your Cat Rescued Out of A Tree

So, you have a cat stuck in a tree and need it rescued. How do you do this?

Do-it-yourself

One obvious method is using a ladder and climbing the tree yourself, but many situations prevent this from being feasible. Another method is to use a plastic organizer crate, rope, and lightweight string. Tie a weight to the lightweight string, and throw the weight+string over a limb as near as you can to the kitty (you may use a ladder to get closer to the target limb for your toss). Then use the string to haul the rope up and over the limb, and then back to yourself. Tie the rope to the plastic organizer crate, put kitty food in the crate, and use the rope to haul it up to the limb. Hopefully, the kitty will be enticed by the food and will jump into the crate, at which point you lower the crate. The tough part is getting the crate positioned near enough to the kitty -- height and intervening limbs may prevent this.

In hot weather, dehydration is a concern. If possible, climb a ladder and try to get the kitty wet with a garden hose. DO NOT CHASE THE KITTY FURTHER UP THE TREE BY SPRAYING UP DIRECTLY AT THE CAT. Trying arcing the spray up over the cat so that the water falls from the top of the tree down on the cat, like rain. Generally, a kitty will just hunker down in rain, and not move. Getting the kitty wet will cause the kitty to lick its fur, hydrating the kitty. IF a water hose is not possible, try a super-soaker water gun.

The picture below is from 9 Lives Cat Rescue of Oxford (Oxford, MS) who successfully used this technique on a rescue.

Social/Local Media

Just post to Facebook. From my patented 'CatFind' Facebook app that searches public posts for 'cats stuck trees' keywords (and prunes all of the other garbage that comes back), I have become an uber expert on cats stuck-in-trees and Facebook. From my research, the half-life of a cat stuck-in-a-tree after a Facebook post has been made is about 24 hours. Inevitably, the network-of-friends that is Facebook produces a competent hero capable of rescuing the poor kitty. However, there is one downside to posting on Facebook that your cat is stuck-in-a-tree, and that is putting up with the idiots that find it necessary to post such useful tidbits as "Use a shotgun!" or the always hilarious/informative/compassionate "Don't do anything, have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?".
If you want an even a quicker response, contact your local radio or TV station. Once the media is on the case, that kitty is gonna be rescued, perhaps even by some entity that was reluctant to get involved prior to this.

The above suggestions are somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but they do work very effectively. But, the first calls should always be to all of the local tree services in your area -- they absolutely have the expertise to get the job done.