toronto cat rescue

Toronto man braves narrow ledge of condo building to rescue cat

How far would you go to save a pet in peril?

One Toronto man was forced to answer this question on Wednesday evening after his cat decided to take a stroll along the edge of a high-rise condo building.

The man, who wants to keep his name private, says that he and his fluffy orange cat were hanging out in their Liberty Village residence yesterday when he decided to open the balcony door to let in some fresh spring air.

Knowing how much the cat loves to explore, he put up a baby gate between his living room and balcony.

The cat wasn't fazed, it seems: The second his owner's back was turned, the kitty jumped over the gate and managed to slip through a crack in the balcony's frame.

With all of his rambunctious spring animal energy, the cat wandered over to a neighbour's nearby balcony to sniff around.

Distressed, the man ran over to his neighbour's house to see if he could retrieve the feline. The neighbours weren't home.

"He was trying to squeeze back under the glass and getting stuck almost, I was afraid he was going to hurt himself," said the man, noting that he feared the cat might try to jump up onto the railing and slip.

"He would likely have fallen if he'd tried to hop back over," said the man. "I had to do something quick."

So, to ensure the feisty orange kitty came home in one piece, the man climbed over his own balcony, walked across a narrow plank on the side of his condo building and scooped the cat up into his arms.

A neighbour who managed to film the incident posted a clip to Instagram and it has since gone viral, thanks largely in part to a repost from 6ixbuzzTV.

Fans are now hailing the man as everything from a hero to "the next Spiderman," while others are saying he's nuts to have risked his life for a cat like that.

When asked if he was afraid at the time, the man shrugged and said he wasn't thinking about himself.

"I just wanted to get him back," he said of his little friend, who is now safely indoors and blissfully unaware of its newfound fame.

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