People worry about cats stuck in trees. But, really, have you ever found a feline skeleton dangling from a branch? No. They find their way back to the ground.

When I first moved to my current apartment, my cat Saffron adapted quickly. He spent a few days crawling in and out from under the bed to nap and hide, but it was just a tiny bit of time before he was staring out windows and watching birds.

Eventually, I let Saffron hang out on the balcony to soak in the sun and watch birds a little closer.

Because he’s a cat, he’s curious. And he likes to climb. Thus, he once discovered crawling all the way up the screen door would get him on the roof. I live on the third and top floor.

He spent a few hours wandering around on top of the building. This was four years ago. I was wringing my hands and in tears the entire time he was up there.

Eventually, Saffron tried to get down from his new playground. He would creep close to the edge and I tried several times to grab his two front legs and pull him into my arms. I had to stand on a step stool to drag him.

He hasn’t tried that trick again until this week. I let him onto the balcony at 10:00p.m. and in a flash he dug his claws into the screen and popped to the top. I saw his back legs vanish as he lept onto the roof.

This time, my reaction was different. I didn’t cry or panic.

I did go onto the balcony every few minutes to coax him down.

Every once in a while he’d move close to the edge. But then, he’d move back onto the roof. I’d go back inside and putter. Sometimes I would hear “thud thud thud” as he ran around above me.

I was so calm this time that I decided to go to bed. I checked on the Cat on the Cool Cement Roof one more time.

Saffron was on the edge again. “Meow meow meow.”

“Time for bed. Let’s go,” I said simply with no whining.

He stepped down the little ledges and onto the wood of the balcony cover. He put his little paws onto the last possible place and with a scared face looked at me. He braced himself and jumped.

With incredibly sloppy form, Saffron smacked a little against the step stool. But he landed on his feet. His tale was big and puffy. He was scared. He froze for a moment like a statue.

Then he took physical inventory to make sure he was intact. I tidied the balcony and we walked inside.

Within 20 minutes we were asleep and happy.

You think you can’t make that leap, you’re stuck where you don’t want to be, and fear makes your tale puffy. When you’re at that moment, don’t panic. Jump. You might smack against the step stool, but you’ll land on your feet.