Cat Rescue Guy

There were only two kitties in need of rescue this week. The first was Momma Catz in Erwinville, Louisiana who got stuck in a River Birch tree across the street and was very distressed about it. Her owner, Hannah, however, was even more distressed. Momma Catz had been stuck only one night, but that was far too long for both of them. I can't say that Momma Catz was particularly happy to see me in the tree with her, but she didn't try to get away from me either. She stayed in that crotch facing away from me and would not turn around to face me. I petted her and she seemed to tolerate it well enough. To pull her out of that crotch, I had to grab her by the scruff to lift her and then pull the bag around her. She and Hannah were mightily relieved and happy to be back home again. The next rescue was for an unknown, orange-and-white cat who has been making irregular but frequent appearances at Nicole's rural home near Livingston, Louisiana for the past several months. He -- or is

It was another one of those "Oh my goodness!" moments when I first saw where Camiko was perched in the tree. This one-and-a-half-year-old gray tabby girl appeared only as a dark spot about 65 feet high at the top of a skinny Sweetgum tree growing in the woods behind her home. From the looks of her precarious spot on tiny, uncomfortable limbs, I would normally expect a cat to fall out of the tree after one or two nights, but Camiko had been here for seven nights, and she was miserable. The tree looked more like a skinny pole, and I was pretty certain that it would not be safe to climb it high enough to rescue Camiko. I was somberly thinking about my extreme rescue options while hoping that Camiko would get excited enough to come down a bit to me. Climbing the last twenty feet of the tree went very slowly because I wanted to advance in small increments to judge how well the tree could handle my weight without excessive swaying. Fortunately, the tree felt stable with each advanc

Simon has an addiction to trees. He is only ten months old and has already been stuck in a tree six times. His family managed to rescue him themselves three of those times, and I rescued him the other three times. Before you get upset with the family for allowing this to happen, you need to understand that they are doing all they can to prevent this. They keep him inside all the time despite his persistent complaints, but he is adept at dashing out the door whenever he sees an opening. Once he gets outside, he heads for the trees. I love rescuing Simon because he is a lovable, sweet boy and is always happy to see me and as cooperative as he can be with me. This third time was no exception. All I need to do is climb up near him, and I can expect him to come as close as he can to meet me. We're friends without any introduction, and he lets me rescue him in whatever way I decide. This time, I needed him to walk into a carrier, and that's exactly what he did. He was only 25 feet hi

Oh my goodness! That was my reaction to seeing where Oreo was stuck in the tree when I arrived to rescue him. Oreo picked the worst spot to be stuck in this Cedar tree just behind his home where he escaped four days earlier. Cedar trees often have an oversized limb that grows outward and then curves vertically upward like a separate tree in its own right, and Oreo picked that limb and climbed to the tip top where he settled about 50 feet high. The limbs there were tiny, and his position was precarious. His body was draped at the belly over one of those tiny limbs, and his feet barely reached other limbs on opposite sides. If he extended his legs and pushed up, he could relieve some of the pressure of that tiny limb digging into his belly, but he could not maintain that position for long. Imagine being stuck in that position for ten minutes. Oreo was stuck there for four nights. I climbed up the trunk of the tree until I was roughly level with him. I leaned and stretched out till I was