For at least two days residents of a suburban neighbourhood in Colorado, in the US, were worried about the fate of a black cat called Panther who was perched on top of a 36ft telegraph pole.

Panther stayed put despite efforts by his co-owner, Alexis Soberanis and others to coax him down.

Neither pleading nor the enticement of food did the trick, the Sentinel Colorado reported.

The cat went missing in the town of Aurora earlier this week and was first spotted on the pole on Wednesday.

“Everybody’s been just like, ‘Put food down and it’ll come down eventually’,” said Jessica Meadows on Friday, when the city received its first snow of the season.

“That’s not going to happen.”

Ms Meadows said she and other neighbours called Aurora animal control and Xcel Energy for help.

“Everyone says they can’t do anything,” Ms Meadows said.

Standard practice, a utility company said, is to give cats time to make their way back down on their own, the Sentinel Colorado reported.

News of Panther’s plight reached Aurora council member Curtis Gardner and city officials sent a lorry with a ladder.

After getting the lorry in place, firefighters rescued the cat.

Panther seemed eager to step into a pet carrier.

Kimberly Medina, another of Panther’s co-owner, said he had always been allowed outside. No more, she said. “Never.”