(UPI) Animal rescuers in Britain came to the assistance of a cat that ended up stranded on a 25-foot fence covered in razor wire outside of a prison.

The RSPCA said the cat had apparently attempted to scale the fence at HM Prison Haverigg in Millom, Cumbria, and was spotted stranded at the top of the fence by prisoners and workers Dec. 21.

"I have no idea how he managed to get so far inside the prison and so high up the fence, maybe he considered himself a bit of a feline felon," RSPCA Inspector Martyn Fletcher said.

Fletcher said the cat was able to move at the top of the fence, but was seen nearly falling and catching itself on the razor wire three times.

"The poor cat was very scared and reluctant to be rescued. It took a lot of patience, some ladders and a reach and rescue pole to be able to bring him to safety," he said.

Fletcher took the cat, which was not microchipped, to his home to recover from minor injuries incurred from the razor wire and the stress of the incident. He said the feline's owners were found and the cat, named Padfoot, was returned home on Christmas Eve.

Padfoot's owner, Angela Driver Swales, said the cat is a serial escape artist and had been missing for several days.

"He will go but he always comes back so it wasn't until one of our neighbors told us about the rescue that we thought it might be Padfoot," she said.

Copyright 2020 by United Press International