Hi, last night I watched some TV and stumbeld upon an US-American movie of the last century (80s/90s I guess). In that parcticular movie firefighters were called to save a poor kitty from a tree. I realized I saw that type of scene in many US movies (more often in old ones) where the firefighters (or a superhero for example) get called to save cats from treebranches.

For me as a 20 something European this seems very unrealistic. I cannot recall any article or instance when firefighters in my country were called merely because of a cat in a tree. Is there anything/more to this cliche kind of scene or was it just a easy way to show the kindness of a superhero or the helpfullness of the protagonist in the movie? Is this still a common incident nowadays in the US or has it ever been?

Thx in advance!

Edit: As many people pointed out to me in direct messages and some comments cat saving operations from trees by firefighters are not that uncommon in Europe as well. My mistake - should've googled before. But why exactly this trope is so wide spread in mostly US movies and where it originates from is still in question. Thx again!