Bert

Gerald stepped out into the yard of his home in Donaldsonville and was surprised to hear a cat crying.  He looked around but did not see a cat anywhere.  The crying continued, and it took a minute before he could locate the source.  There up 30 feet high in the live oak tree in his front yard was a cat.  The cat looked at him and pleaded with him for help.  He did not recognize the cat, but he did what he could to help.  All his efforts failed, however, so he told his adult daughter, Dawn, about it.

 Dawn was also at a loss and didn't know what to do.  After she was rebuffed by the fire department, she posted a plea for help on Facebook, and someone who knew me told her about me.  By this time, however, it was too late in the day to rescue the cat, but if the cat was still there in the morning, Dawn would contact me then.

 The next morning, Dawn told me that the cat was still there, so we made plans for the rescue.  I drove out there and met Gerald and Dawn, and they led me to the unknown cat that was stuck in their tree.  They had asked some neighbors about it, but no one recognized the cat, and no one was missing a cat.  Dawn, being the responsible animal-lover that she is, volunteered to take responsibility for the cat once I got it down.  She would try to find the owner, and if that failed, she would find a home for it.

 Since the cat was crying so intensely, I knew this was a tame and socialized cat, but that doesn't guarantee that it will be happy to see me in the tree.  Still, I was hopeful as I installed my rope up above him.  He was not disturbed by my activity in the tree above him, but he did appear to be interested in it.

 I climbed up to him, and he continued to cry and remain in the same place.  Once I reached level with him, I reached my hand out to him, and he sniffed it.  He seemed very comfortable with me, so I touched him.  He was very comfortable with my touch, so I petted him all over.  This was nothing new to him, and he was very happy to get the attention.  This boy has spent a lot of time with people and probably belonged to someone.

 From the ground, at first I thought the cat was a tortie, and therefore a female, but now that I was close, I could see that it was a brown marble tabby with medium length hair.  I still thought it might be female because the head seemed a little small, but later I would determine that it was a male.

 He was very comfortable with me and happy to see me.  Several times he reached out with his front legs on my leg as if he wanted to step on my lap, but the distance between us was just a little too much for him to safely pull his back legs on my lap as well.  I placed the open carrier in front of him to see if he would walk inside, but he just rubbed his head all over the entrance without even looking inside, much less stepping in.  I upped the ante by opening a can of food, and I could see him quickly responding by licking his lips and stepping back onto my lap again.  I gave him a bite and then placed the food inside the carrier.  When I put the carrier in front of him again, he did not hesitate one second to step inside.  I tucked his tail inside and closed the door while he ate the food.  Easy rescue.

 I came down and we took him inside the house where we released him in one room.  He stepped out of the carrier and walked up to us and brushed against us and clearly enjoyed being out of the carrier and back on the ground again.  He rubbed against me repeatedly, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  This is a very sweet boy, and he was even comfortable being held.  Dawn held him while I took this picture.

 I left him there with Gerald and Dawn knowing that they would do everything they could to find the owner or a new home for him.  Dawn sent this picture of him to me later, and it appears that he is very comfortable there and thinks he has already found his new home.  I will update this story as it develops.