Cat Rescue Guy

Whenever I get a call to rescue an unknown cat, I always have two concerns:  (1) will the cat be cooperative, and (2) what do we do with the cat after I rescue it.  Regarding the first concern, I have been very lucky in that almost every unknown cat I have rescued turned out to be friendly, sweet and cooperative.  I have been less lucky with the second concern, since there have been a number of times when I have had to take the cat home with me and foster it until a new home can be found.  So when I got the call from Liz in Abita Springs to rescue an unknown cat in her tree, I was especially worried about what to do with the cat, because I was already fostering a kitten from an earlier rescue of an unknown cat.  I can't foster any more cats right now.  Fortunately, Liz put a big smile on my face when she said she would take responsibility for the cat.  She would either find the owner or keep it herself. When I arrived at the site, without any assistance, I quickly found the cat

When Pat called me to rescue her cat, Ben, I asked her how he normally reacts to strangers.  Pat did not hesitate to say that he runs and hides.  That is almost a sure sign that he won't be cooperative with me in the tree, so I was not expecting an easy rescue.  Skittish cats are rarely so desperate to get down out of the tree that they can overcome their fear of strangers and greet me happily, but I always hold out hope for the exceptions.  Ben was not an exception. Ben is a 7-year old brown tabby with possibly some Maine Coon in him, and he lives a very good life in a nice home with a retired couple, Pat and Noel.  The house is surrounded by numerous trees, including some tall pines trees immediately outside the back door.  It was in one of these pine trees that Ben got stuck, probably by chasing a squirrel.  He has done this before, but the last time he did not go very high, and Noel was able to get him down by climbing a ladder.  This time, however, Ben was about 45 feet hi