Yesterday my husband helped rescue a neighbor's cat, who had been boarded into a burned house. Her piteous mews for help tore my heart. My husband hauled out and set up a 30-foot ladder, and the cat's owner climbed it [only partway] and brought her down.

[We think that cats are great jumpers, but the cat's throaty yowls while being carried down the ladder convinced me that she was very afraid.]

So the strength and skill to handle ladders must be put on the list.