Bat Goddess, that reminds me of when my cat Morgan (the mother of Leo & Patchouli - the leaping-onto-shoulders one - and grandmother of Angelina & Thomas) ran up a tree when she was a few months old. Same scenario: too high for me to reach her, nowhere for her to go forward, and she couldn't come back. She lost her grip and was hanging by her front claws. I reached up and I couldn't even touch her feet. I kept saying, "Drop! Drop!" and somehow she trusted me and dropped neatly into my arms.

I know she didn't understand the word "drop", and she couldn't see me below her but my voice was enough for her to let go.

Helen