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Saul and the Witch of Endor, 1526 ~ by Cornelis van Jacob

So why do cats get stuck in trees? If they can climb up, why can’t they climb down?

There are many people – even people of authority who should know better – who will tell you that cats always come down on their own. All you have to do is wait. They are wrong. The way they most often express this is with the question, “Have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?” Sometimes they say "I have never seen a cat skeleton in a tree" or "I have never seen a dead cat in a tree." I don’t know how or why this expression became so popular and attractive, but if you ever ask a bunch of people for advice about a cat in a tree, you are certain to be bombarded with it.

The implication, of course, is that the cat has not come down yet because he wants to be there or is simply not yet motivated enough to come down. Once he decides to come down, he will. These cat-stuck-in-tree deniers ignore the reality that the cat is staying up there for days or even weeks in miserable conditions without food or water or a comfortable place to stand or sleep and clearly wants down. Never have I heard them explain why the cat would choose to stay there. Are they suggesting that this might be the cat equivalent of some kind of religious fasting ritual?