Angelo Ciammaichella earns a living in the tree industry, as well as working a few other side jobs to take care of his family. For more than a decade, Ciammaichella has climbed trees to manage branches and remove limbs. But he has also dedicated his life to climbing trees off the clock for a very different reason.
Ciammaichella rescues cats from trees.
It all began when his fiancee saw a post on Facebook about someone's cat being stuck in a tree.
"She's like, 'Hey, you can climb trees, go help them.' So I did," Ciammaichella recalled. "And then after doing that, somebody else heard about it, and they had that issue so, they called me, and then after getting a few calls, I realized there was an actual need for this."
Ciammaichella said that local fire departments and first responders rarely have the time or resources to respond and rescue cats when they find themselves stuck. Owners often are told the cat will come down on its own—but that's not always the case.
"I've had reports of cats being up in trees for four to five days straight just sitting there crying for their owner to save them," he said.
That's why Ciammaichella began Treetop Cat Rescue. With word out that he had the ability to climb trees and rescue cats, the calls continued pouring in. Most of the calls Ciammaichella receives are in Akron, more than 30 minutes away from his home.
Location has never stopped Ciammaichella, nor has the size or condition of a tree.
"It's funny because I'm climbing up a tree...where if this was a tree job, I would have said no. The only reason I'm willing to go that high or go out that far in a branch is because there's a cat there," he said. "It's really surprising how far you can push yourself when there's somebody else's life on the line."
That was evident just a few weeks ago when Ciammaichella received a call from Debra Frieden down in Akron.
"My kitten's name is Meow Meow," Frieden laughed.
Frieden has a dog and two cats, including Meow Meow. Her pets are her companions and make her feel like family. After her husband passed several years ago, having pets perhaps became even more important to the Northeast Ohio native.
So in February, when her home was being worked on, and Meow Meow went missing, she began to panic.
"I had a contractor doing the office in the back of my house, putting a deck on," she recalled "I had to run an errand and the cat got out, my kitten got out, while they were working and when I came home from doing errands, he wasn't here."
Frieden searched everywhere for Meow Meow. Eventually, she found him—near the top of a nearly 100-foot tree. He had likely been frightened up the tree by the curious barks of dogs in a neighbor's backyard and scurried up the tall trunk and onto a high branch.
What made the situation more dire was the surroundings of the tree. At the base of the tree, rocks and debris sit on the earth below, making a fall dangerous and even life-threatening.
"If he would have fallen out of it…he would have died. He was not coming down," Frieden said.
Luckily, Frieden's neighbor Ashley had seen Ciammaichella's Treetop Cat Rescue on Facebook and shared his contact with her.
"This gentleman named Angelo was at work and he answered the phone which surprised me and he, he immediately said 'I'm at work, I'll come down as soon as I'm done," Frieden said. "I'm thinking in my head 4 to 5 p.m. because he was at work. Well, he was here long before that and I just couldn't believe it."
Ciammaichella rushed down to Akron and found Meow Meow high in the treetop. He threw on his climbing gear, made the trek up the trunk and began the rescue.
"Once I get to the cat, the goal is to get them into my arms and then from there, I have a special bag that I made where I put kitty into the bag to where I can tie them onto my harness and rappel down safely," he said.
After calmly talking to the cat and making him feel safe, Ciammaichella gently grabbed Meow Meow and began his descent, returning him to Frieden without a scratch.
Those moments happen, Ciammaichella says, as often as twice a week. He's made dozens of rescues and will make even more. The company he works for, Fleck Tree Service, allows him to use his gear to save the cats. Ciammaichella is grateful for that and for his family, who understand his dedication to saving animals in need when the calls come in.
What makes Ciammaichella's efforts even more special is that he doesn't charge for his services. Free of charge, Ciammaichella drives across Northeast Ohio, giving his time to rescue pets and strays alike in need.
He understands how important animals are to people and has made it his mission to help as much as he can.
"A lot of people, including myself, we look at cats as family," he said. "When you go and you return a cat to somebody and just how thankful they are, it makes it well worth it."
And Ciammaichella has become just as important to the people whose cats he's rescued.
"It seems like it’s not important, but wow, what he did was actually very heroic," Frieden said, tearing up as she looked at Meow Meow, snuggling at the top of his cat tower, safely in their home. "Sometimes what is big is small...It almost makes me want to cry."
As he continues offering his Treetop Cat Rescue services, Ciammaichella hopes to partner with a local APL or animal shelter to expand his resources. He also hopes that he can create a network of other arborists, roofers and people who are certified to safely climb in order to provide a network across the state for cats in need of rescue.
While he doesn't charge for his services, community members have been sending donations to Ciammaichella to help him continue his work and show gratitude. To learn more about Treetop Cat Rescue, click here.
