Editor's note: This story was first published in 2013.

Firefighters had to rescue an NYPD officer stuck in a tree after the cop climbed up to try and save a cat Monday in Queens.

The FDNY said it received a call at 2:40 p.m. for a police officer stuck in a tree near a public elementary school at 67th and 231st streets in Bayside.

The FDNY responded with a tower ladder and found the officer and the cat about 30 feet up in the tree.

Both were rescued "safe and sound," FDNY says.

The black and white cat appeared to be about a year old and was not wearing a collar, according to neighbor Luna Giuong, 19.

Neighbor Jeff Yu, 22, said students from the nearby school had just gotten out and lingered to stare at the cat and cop.

"It was kind of comical," he said. "They seemed to be enjoying themselves. There were no rude comments or anything."

The officer had lit a flare and set up cones on the ground underneath the tree before going up but onlookers ignored them as they gathered and gawked from the ground, said Yu.

Yu said several fire trucks and police patrol cars responded and "took their time" in the rescue.