I didn't know what to do with Suki. I thought this rescue was going to be simple, quick, easy and pleasant. Suki was on the lowest, dead stub of a limb in a tall Pine tree in her next door neighbor's yard in Denham Springs, and she was pleading for anyone to help her. She is a sweet, one-year-old girl who looked ready to cooperate with me to get her down, even though she had been in the tree only eight hours or so. I climbed up to her, and she readily greeted me and made friends with me. She was ready to go; all I had to do was bring her down.
I pulled the carrier up to her, but she seemed a bit uncomfortable with that. Rather than risk her climbing higher in this tall tree, I just put the carrier away. No problem. I will just bag her. I prepared the cat bag on my arm, and then I learned that Suki HATES the scent of any other cat. I don't typically wash my cat bag between rescues, so the bag held the scent of several cats that had been rescued prior. Suki could smell the scent of those cats on the bag as well as on my hands which had just handled the bag. Suki began to hiss and growl. She would not have anything to do with me. Every time I put my hand anywhere near her, she would hiss and growl some more.
Fortunately, Suki was not climbing higher in the tree to get away from me, but I was at a loss. She did not like the carrier, the food I offered had no appeal to her, the cat bag is out of the question, and she certainly is not going to step onto my lap now. I was not prepared for this. I didn't know what to do. I could go back down to get a rescue pole and net, but that just seemed so much trouble for a cat in easy reach. I was pondering my options when Suki turned her head all the way around to look at something behind her. I instantly decided to take advantage of this opportunity and grab her by the scruff and bag her. I can't show the video of this rescue, because Suki's language at this point is not suitable for adults, much less younger viewers. You will just have to imagine how vocal and mad she was at me for doing that and then stuffing her inside a bag with the scent of other cats. I felt badly about doing it, but there were no pleasant options left. The best I could do now was to get her out of the bag as soon as possible, so I hurriedly went down and handed her to her owner to release inside.
Suki was still fuming even after getting out of the bag and safely in her house, but she eventually settled down and became her sweet self again. Just don't touch any other cat and expect her to be happy to see you. And if I ever need to rescue her again, you can be sure I will have a very clean, scent-free bag with me.
