Clea

Clea has a unique blend of features -- a bob tail, mismatched arm sleeves, one ear smaller than the other, stripes and spots, gray and orange -- all of which combine to make one very cute and very sweet little girl. Alicia and her children are deeply attached to this nine-month-old kitty, so when a dog chased Clea up a tree in her own back yard in Livingston, the whole family was very distressed. A neighbor climbed a ladder twenty feet high and tried to rescue Clea by wrapping her in a blanket, but Clea escaped and climbed almost ten feet higher. The neighbor was forced to retreat while leaving both Clea and the blanket still in the tree.

I arrived after Clea's second night in the tree, and the ladder was still propped up against the skinny tree. Even though I do not like ladders, I decided to use it to get started just so I could avoid any commotion in my rope-installation process that might scare Clea. For my safety, I tied myself to the tree as I climbed the ladder. Because the tree was so skinny, I was not sure how close I could get to Clea, but as I climbed up higher, the tree felt secure enough for me to get just within her reach.

Clea sniffed my hand and let me pet her, but I could still sense that she did not quite trust me completely. I reassured her as best I could and then lifted the carrier above my head where she could walk into it. She had been stuck for a long time on skinny limbs, so I figured the wide, flat floor of the carrier would look very comfortable and attractive to her. She looked inside but would not go in. I pulled the carrier away and tried it again with the same result. I opened a can of food and let her get a good sniff of it before placing it in the back of the carrier. Again, I held the carrier up to her, and, this time, she walked inside. I closed the door and lowered the carrier down to the ground where Alicia was anxiously waiting.