Cat rescued from high ceiling at supermarket

April 1 (UPI) -- Animal rescuers were called to a British supermarket where a cat was spotted stranded on ceiling beams 40 feet above the ground.

The RSPCA said Inspectors Anthony Joynes and John Littlewood were dispatched March 25 to the Sainsbury's store in Upton, Merseyside, England, where employees had spotted a cat stranded on the beams across the ceiling of the store's delivery bay.

The inspectors erected a ladder and created a pulley system to raise a cage that Joynes coaxed the cat into by shaking a can of food.

"She lives not far away from where she was found but I have no idea how she managed to climb up so high but she was obviously terrified once she was up there and realized she couldn't safely get down," Joynes said.

"It was lucky she was spotted by Sainsbury's workers and this case also goes to show the importance of microchipping pets," he said.

The 9-year-old cat, named Ellie, was returned to her owners, Robert and Melissa Smith. The Smiths said their pet had been missing for 10 days.