Shadow is a six-month-old, black kitty who got stuck 40 feet high in a Sweetgum tree in her yard in Hammond. She didn't know how to climb back down, and her family was very worried about her. She had been in the tree only a few hours when they called me, but there were many scattered thunderstorms passing over the area, and I had to wait for the weather to clear. When the storms passed, it appeared I had enough time to do the rescue before the next storm arrived, so off I went.
Shadow was completely quiet the entire time until I climbed up close to her. That is when I heard her cry for the first time, and it was not a happy cry. She was scared. I reached my hand out to her, and she reluctantly sniffed it and then let me touch her. A gentle pet on the head and back was all she needed to be fully reassured that I was friendly. With that introduction out of the way, she was very friendly and perfectly trusting of me.
Shadow had already been stuck there during one rain storm, and another shower fell on us as I climbed up to her. The tree was dripping on us both, and she was wet and anxious to get down. I spread the bottom of the cat bag on my lap and then encouraged her to step down onto it. As she stepped down onto my lap, she got close enough to the bag to detect the scent of previous cats I have rescued. Most cats are not bothered by that, but Shadow did not like it. She began to growl, but she still continued to settle down onto my lap. I collected the sides of the bag in my hands around her and quickly pulled them up over her and secured her inside. Shadow was still unsettled by the scent of other cats, but I calmed her down as much as I could before going down, and I promised her I would wash the bag when I got home.
Back on the ground, I handed her to Keith, and he took her inside to release her. Shadow had been in the tree only eight hours or so, so the task of getting resettled into her home was an easy one. She was soon dry and settled in for a nap on a pile of towels, and Keith took a picture of her (below) and sent it to me.
