Get your cat down by luring it with treats.
Cats love to climb, including to places you wish they rather wouldn't. As a general rule, anywhere cats can get to, they can get down from, so while they may not be "trapped" in rafters, their climbing into those areas may put them at risk of being injured, exploring areas that lead into crawl spaces or outside, or even cause damage to your home. There are easy solutions to this problem, both intervention and prevention.
Instructions
The first step is to prevent the problem in the first place. Here are some ways to do just that.
1. Give the cat an alternative. Cats like to climb, so give them something more appropriate, such as a climbing tree or a combination of furniture to give them a place to scale the heights.
2. Secure the rafters from being reachable. If you've been considering closing them in with a drop ceiling, here's another reason to do so. If the space where they are accessible is limited, consider covering them with plastic sheeting, or even a bed sheet. Anything that essentially blocks the rafters from easy access will work.
3. Remove avenues of entry. Move any furniture or other raised areas that serve as your cat's gateway, allowing them to get high enough to jump into the rafters themselves. You may also decide that your cat being in the basement period is not necessary. If so, then keep your basement door closed or install a pet gate sufficiently high to deter your cat's desire to leap it.
4. Tape or foil the rafters to deter your cat. Applying strips of double-sided tape to the top of your rafters, or laying sheets of aluminum foil over the rafters will deter your cat from either jumping up period, or discourage it from remaining if it gets up there at all. Cats do not like to walk on loose covering or sticky surfaces.
If the cat is already stuck in the rafters, you can try the following steps.
5. Talk to your cat in a warm, loving tone, calling it to you. It is much more likely to come to you if it doesn't think it is in trouble once it gets there.
6. Lure your cat with a toy, treat or other more promising reward that trumps the fun in the rafters.
7. Be patient. Do not try to forcibly grab your cat as you might scare it and make it climb higher up.
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