Firefighters rescued a police officer who got stuck in a Queens tree after trying to save a cat, May 13, 2013. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Ewa Kern

OAKLAND GARDENS — Here's a new spin on the oldest tail in the book.

A cop trying to rescue a cat from a tree in Queens Monday afternoon got stuck and had to be plucked to safety by the fire department, officials said.

Neighbors said the cagey kitty had been stuck in a tree on 67th Avenue and 230th Street, in Oakland Gardens, since Sunday night, "crying and making noise."

An officer tried to bring the furball, who was perched about 30 feet up, to safety on Monday, but got caught about 2:40 p.m., the fire department said.

"I saw a cat and a police officer," said a 12-year-old boy who lives nearby. "In a few minutes [firefighters] got the ladder and the fireman got the cat and the police officer came down [the ladder]."

A neighbor also said he saw a worker from nearby P.S. 213 carry a ladder over to the tree in the morning, but the ladder was too short to reach the kitten.

An NYPD spokeswoman said she could not confirm the incident.