First, slow everything down — including yourself
A cat on a roof looks like an emergency, but most roof rescues go wrong when people rush: shouting, multiple voices, and someone climbing up after her all convince the cat that the roof is safer than the people. Stand where she can see you, speak in your ordinary voice, and assess before acting. How did she get up? A fence to a shed roof, a shed to an extension, an extension to the main roof is the usual staircase, and a cat who climbed up that staircase can almost always climb down it once she is calm and the route is clear and inviting.
Rebuild her staircase and let her use it
Clear anything that has blocked her route down, then improve it: a wide plank or a ladder set at a gentle angle against the lowest roof edge, with a towel or carpet offcut fixed over it for grip, gives her a walkway she can trust. Place very smelly food — warmed fish or her favourite wet food — partway down that route, not at the bottom, so each step toward home is rewarded and the next step looks shorter. Then step well back and wait, even for half an hour or more. Cats frequently descend the moment the audience disappears, and your patience is the tool here, not your reach.
For a cat inside a chimney space, protect the route out
If she has slipped into a chimney breast or flue space, do not light the fire under any circumstances, and keep everyone away from that fireplace until she is out. Open any inspection hatch or flue access you can reach safely, shine a torch upward so she can see a lit route, and place strong-smelling food at the opening. Keep the room silent and dim, and try gentle calling at intervals rather than constant noise. Soot and confined spaces are disorienting, and a cat in a flue often needs long quiet stretches between attempts to move toward the opening.
Know when the job belongs to professionals
Call your local fire and rescue service's non-emergency line or an animal rescue organisation when she has been up or inside for many hours, when weather is turning, when she appears injured or wedged rather than simply unwilling, or when reaching her would need roof work at height. A roofer with proper ladders and roof boards, or a tree-and-height rescue volunteer, can sometimes help where a household ladder cannot. Never go onto a roof yourself after a cat: a fall injures you and still leaves the cat up there, now with a genuine emergency unfolding below her.
Once she is down, check her over and close the route
A cat recovered from a roof or chimney may have soot in her airways, sore paws, or grazes she hid while frightened, so keep her indoors, offer water, and watch her breathing and movement for the rest of the day; laboured breathing, limping, or unusual quietness after a chimney episode is a reason to phone a vet promptly. Then walk her staircase route and block the first step — a fence panel extension, a moved bin, a secured shed door — so tomorrow's adventure has no opening move. KinsLe's Circle of Love links your free account into a wider local network of pet lovers, so the neighbour with the long ladder and the spare eyes at dusk are already around you when a roof recovery needs a small crowd.