She may share her name with one of cinema's most celebrated adventurers - archaeologist Dr Jones - but Indiana the cat bit off more than she could chew when she ended up stranded up a conifer tree.

Half-Maine coon, half-miscellaneous is how owner Jonathan Channing describes the free-spirited feline, who went missing from the family home in Chiswell Green, on Wednesday evening.

Herts Advertiser: Adventurous kitty Indiana.Adventurous kitty Indiana. (Image: Jonathan Channing)

After being absent for 24 hours, which he said was most out of character, and when the usual alerts on Chiswell Green WhatsApp groups had come to nothing, Indiana's whereabouts remained a mystery.

Then at around 9pm on Thursday night, they heard a meowing...

Jonathan explained: "We followed our ears and tracked the noise to two gardens down, one across. She was stuck up the top of a conifer.

"We could see the reflection of her eyes with the torch but after an hour of coaxing her down to no avail, we called it a night and promised her to call out the fire brigade, RSPCA or a tree surgeon in the morning.

Herts Advertiser: Indiana is brought to safety from the branches of the conifer tree.Indiana is brought to safety from the branches of the conifer tree. (Image: Jonathan Channing)


"High Elms Tree Surgery’s Reece rescued her this morning. And fast too. Amazing service. They responded to a WhatsApp within one minute at 7am and were on site at half eight to bring her down.

"Indy was occupying a magpie nest and may have fed on the eggs to sustain her for about 35 hours stuck up there."

A spokesperson for High Elms said: "As a professional tree surgery business that has been operating in the area for over 30 years, the team at High Elms Tree Surgery Ltd are also great animal lovers.

"Rescuing cats is in our skill set alongside a wide range of tree surgery! We get several calls a year from worried pet owners, and are always happy to assist to ensure a happy and safe solution for pet and their owner. Reece is an exceptional employee who regularly receives fabulous feedback from our customers."