Coco and Bella

It's very common for me to go rescue a cat in a tree, but it's very rare to go rescue two cats in a tree at the same time. Yes, these two litter-mate sisters, Coco and Bella, got stuck in a tree together in their back yard in Gulfport, Mississippi, and they had been stuck there for two nights. Nancy agonized over how to get them down and even managed to get the fire department to come out, but their ladder just scared one of the cats even higher, so they backed off and gave up.
 
What concerned me about this rescue is that Nancy told me that the cats are semi-feral. Nancy is the only one who can touch them, and they typically run from everyone else. Nancy's daughter and son-in-law were there visiting for the holidays, but they never even see the cats because they always run and hide from them. It's difficult enough to rescue one scared cat in a tree, and now I have two. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle this.
 
I had hoped that the commotion I created in the tree when installing my rope would frighten them enough to come down on their own, but, while it did scare them, they didn't move. The easy way out had failed, and it was time for me to face the challenge.
 
When I climbed up to them, I was positioned between them, and I quickly climbed above them to discourage any thoughts they might have of climbing higher to get away from me. They both stayed on their limbs which, fortunately, were relatively short. I was closer to Coco, so I worked with her first. She was clearly scared of me, so I very slowly worked my way closer to her while trying to ease her mind. She bravely stayed there and allowed me to gently and slowly gain her trust. After a while, I was able to touch her and give her some gentle pets and back scratches. While I was working with her, I discovered that I had left my cat bag on the ground. I could not risk losing the progress I had made with her by going back down to get the cat bag, so I tried to lure her into the carrier. She did not appear to be afraid of the carrier, but she certainly was reluctant to go into it. She made me reassure her and work with her a long time before she decided to put her front legs inside, and, at that point, I gave her a gentle nudge on the back end to prod her inside.
 
I took Coco down, handed her to Nancy, waited for Nancy to take her inside and return with the empty carrier, and then went back up to get Bella. Bella, to my surprise, was even easier and faster to coax into the carrier. She had no problem with it, and was soon back down and joining her sister inside. I was very relieved to have that over so easily. These semi-feral kitties weren't as difficult to rescue as I had expected. It was especially rewarding to see the relief that was so evident on Nancy's face. She cares deeply for her babies and had been very worried about them. The gratitude she and her family showed to me before I left, made my ride home short and enjoyable.
 
Due to a camera malfunction, I have very few pictures.