In most cases, what goes up must come down, but when you're a fat cat stuck atop a skinny tree, there's little to do but sit and wait.

Copper Ridge resident Bonnie Lewis said she noticed an object in a tree off Falcon Drive, behind her house on Sandpiper Drive, on Saturday morning. She called her brother, Red, to come over and investigate.

He brought over his binoculars, she said, and saw it was a cat who appeared to be stuck at the top.

'I know this cat; he gets in my garden,' she said. Despite her general dislike for felines, she said she is worried about this one. The cat has shifted positions a few times, but has so far been unable to get down.

'It must be getting hungry and tired, and it was so hot yesterday,' she said.

She and her brother called various city services over the weekend, including bylaw officers, the police and the fire department, but found most offices were only available for emergencies or were unable to help.

'They told us not to worry, it'll come down on its own when it's hungry,' said Red Lewis.

This morning, the fat, fluffy, black and white cat was still up the tree, meowing from time to time.

It is unclear who owns the cat. The pine tree holding the animal captive is between three and four stories high. Many of the neighbours gathered beneath the tree this morning agreed it would be difficult for the heavyset cat to navigate down the skinny, sparse branches.

Pleas to the fire department were turned down. Limited staff and budget do not allow the firefighters to perform cat rescues anymore, said acting Fire Chief Warren Zakus.

'Unless a service is directed or approved by the city, we don't do it,' he said.

Many of Whitehorse's listed tree service companies were unavailable to help today, with workers out of town or injured.

Craig Steinbach, a Yukon Electrical Co. Ltd. spokesman, said this morning if the cat is still up there at the end of the day, the company would try to send someone by. Staff are quite busy, he said, handling matters related to the flooding south of the city.

Steinbach suggested leaving food and water for the cat to try to coax it down.

'It has been my experience that when we go get cats, they're scared, and when we get them down they are still scared, so they climb back up again.'

A cat retrieval would also pose a risk to its rescuers, who are apt to get scratched, bit and hissed at, Steinbach said.

As of press time early this afternoon, the cat was still stranded.