Skittz

It was about 4:30 in the afternoon when I got a call from Kirstie.  Her cat, Skittz, slipped out the door, climbed up a tree, and perched there about 25 feet high.  He had been there only four hours, but from his actions, she could tell he was stuck and did not know how to come down.  He had even just sat through a heavy rain shower without moving from his position.  Kirstie had adopted Skittz from Cat Haven just six months ago, so she called them for advice.  They referred her to me.

 Skittz is an inside cat and was not familiar with the outdoor territory, so I did not want to wait to see if he could learn how to come down on his own.  If he came down or fell while no one was there, he might not know where to go and get lost.  I wanted to get him down now.

 When I arrived, I met Kirstie as well as several neighbors who were all concerned about Skittz.  I spotted Skittz in a comfortable spot at the union of large stems of a tallow tree.  The tree was on the edge of a large ditch filled with water from the earlier rainfall.  Immediately on the opposite side of the tree was a concrete walkway and fence.  Neither side would be a pleasant landing spot for a cat.

 Since Skittz had been adopted from Cat Haven, I knew that he very likely was highly socialized and unlikely to be afraid of strangers.  Plus, Kirstie told me that he likes to go in carriers.  With information like that, I was expecting a very easy cat to rescue.  The tree, however, was another matter.  It gave me some difficulties as I tried to install my rope, and some equipment malfunctions made it even more troublesome.  It took me much longer than usual to get ready to climb, but at least I was expecting the rest of the rescue to go much quicker.

 I watched Skittz as I climbed up to him to gauge his reaction to my approach.  He watched me as I came closer to him and, as expected, was very comfortable and even happy to see me.  I reached out my hand to him, and he sniffed it.  I climbed up a little closer to him, and then I could pet him.  He relaxed even more and pressed his head into my hand.  Yep, Skittz is going to be an easy rescue.

 I pulled up the carrier and placed it in front of him.  Since I already knew that he likes carriers, I did not even open a can of food to entice him inside.  I just held the empty carrier up to him, and, as expected, he walked inside.

 Several neighbors had gathered to watch the rescue, and as I brought Skittz back down to the ground, they cheered.  Kirstie was especially relieved and happy to have him back down again.  She took him home and released him inside where he resumed his usual routine.  Later that evening, she sent me this picture of him resting on the bed.