My mind is divided between "the goddess wasn't actually in trouble and just wanted to give them a chance to help her so she'd have an excuse to help them" and "I'm autistic and the cat being stuck on the tree and unable to run away because she was paralyzed from the sounds is something I deeply identify with". I like both interpretations.
Anyway, lovely story, I had to take pauses to process my emotions a bit, but they were ultimately good emotions.