Sherlock

Sherlock was only 6-months old when he had his first experience with tree-climbing. As a healthy, energetic, gray tabby boy, he had no trouble at all climbing up and very quickly and proudly found himself 35 feet high. But when he wanted to go down, he discovered he couldn't do it. If there was a secret to going down, he didn't know it. It seems that his mama never taught him how to do that.

 Fortunately, Triche saw his plight and sprung into action. Triche took Sherlock from her daughter and grand-daughter when they became concerned about Sherlock's safety around his large, canine brothers. Triche called the local fire department, and they actually sent someone out there with a ladder. The fireman saw that he could not reach the cat with his ladder, so he called me. After talking with him and Triche, I agreed to go out there to see if I could get Sherlock down.

 I had some difficulties getting my rope installed in the tree, and the commotion I created caused some concern for Sherlock. He climbed up a little higher and came to rest on another limb. While he is normally a very friendly and docile kitty, I was concerned that I had scared him enough to cause him to fear and avoid me in the tree.

 As I climbed up to him, however, my concern melted away as I saw the way he greeted me. His body language and voice reassured me that all was well and that he was very happy to see me. He stayed relaxed as I came level with him. He sniffed my hand and let me touch him. He stood up and stretched and then rubbed his head on the branch. Very quickly, we were friends.

I thought he would readily walk into the carrier, so I opened the door and held it up to him. He looked inside but did not go in. He was not alarmed; he just didn't see any need to go inside. I opened a can of food and held it in front of him so he could have a few bites. He ate readily and then watched as I moved the food inside the carrier. Again, I held the carrier up to him, and he easily walked all the way inside. I pushed his tail inside and closed the door. Easy rescue.

 I brought him back down and handed him to Triche. She took him inside and released him there. Of course, he was doing just fine, since he had been in the tree only six hours at the most. Triche was very relieved too, and was happy to report to her daughter and grand-daughter that Sherlock was now safe.