After recent difficult rescues with uncooperative cats, I have been wanting to do an easier rescue for a sweet, cooperative cat. Today I got my wish. Sweet Pea is a one-year old Siamese mix that lives up to her name. She got stuck in a tree in her own backyard in Napoleonville for unknown reasons, and it took Veronica a full day to exhaust her own rescue attempts and then find me. She called me late in the evening, and I agreed to drive out there the next morning after Sweet Pea's second night in the tree. When I arrived, I met Lloyd, Veronica's father, who led me to the backyard where I found Sweet Pea about 25 feet high near the top of a cypress tree. Sweet Pea was crying repeatedly for us, and I took that as a good sign. Sweet Pea watched me closely as I worked my way up the tree, and she cried for help constantly. When I got closer to her, she began to come down a little bit toward me, and that is another very good sign. When I was close enough, I reached up my hand for her to sniff. She was getting more excited and fidgety now as if she knew help was here at last.
After I went up a little higher, I was in easy reach of her, and she greeted me readily. I petted her and she pushed her head hard into my hand. Every time I tried to pull my hand away, she would reach out with her paw and grab my hand with her claws. She was not going to allow this chance at rescue to get out of her reach.
She seemed so anxious and impatient for rescue, that I decided to offer her the carrier without any food incentive inside. When I placed the carrier up to her, however, she was not interested. She didn't know what to do with that and didn't see any value in it. So I opened up a can of food and her ears immediately perked up. When I put the food up to her, she dug into it like a ravenous beast. I was afraid she would eat the whole can of food in one bite. I quickly pulled it away from her to put into the carrier. My intent was to put the food in the far back of the carrier and turn on the camera that was inside, but Sweet Pea could not wait for that. Even though the opening of the carrier was a foot away from her and my arm was still in it, she leaped off her branch and jumped completely inside the carrier where she continued her feeding frenzy. I was shocked and so amused by this. I have never had a cat do that before. It was a risky move, since we were 20 feet high, and a miscalculation could result in a fall. But Sweet Pea was not thinking about the risk; she was thinking only about that food.
I took her down while she continued to feed. By the time I handed her over to Lloyd, she had finished her food and was still ready for more. Lloyd took her inside and released her there. Veronica reported later in the evening that Sweet Pea is doing just fine and is so very happy to have a full belly and a comfortable bed to sleep in now.
