Cat Rescue Guy

To climb a tree using a rope, a way is needed to get the rope up very high over a selected branch.  The solution most often used is to use a big sling shot to launch a small weighted bag, called a throw-bag, over the branch.  The throw-bag is attached to a light-weight string about the size of a kite string, so as the bag sails over the branch, it drags the string along with it and falls back down to the ground.  The string is then attached to the climbing rope and used to pull the rope over the branch.  It is a simple concept that sometimes proves to be difficult in practice. Ideally, for any rescue, I should be able to shoot the throw-bag into the tree over my selected branch one time and proceed with installing the rope, and most of the time that is exactly what happens.  Sometimes, my aim may be off, or the throw-bag may get stuck, and I have to shoot it a second time.  On bad days, I may have to shoot it a third or fourth or maybe even a fifth time. ...

Gerald stepped out into the yard of his home in Donaldsonville and was surprised to hear a cat crying.  He looked around but did not see a cat anywhere.  The crying continued, and it took a minute before he could locate the source.  There up 30 feet high in the live oak tree in his front yard was a cat.  The cat looked at him and pleaded with him for help.  He did not recognize the cat, but he did what he could to help.  All his efforts failed, however, so he told his adult daughter, Dawn, about it. Dawn was also at a loss and didn't know what to do.  After she was rebuffed by the fire department, she posted a plea for help on Facebook, and someone who knew me told her about me.  By this time, however, it was too late in the day to rescue the cat, but if the cat was still there in the morning, Dawn would contact me then. The next morning, Dawn told me that the cat was still there, so we made plans for the rescue.  I drove out there and ...

My first rescue of the new year happened in Mississippi.  My friend, Bob Reese, the only cat rescuer in the whole state of Mississippi, called me to see if I would be willing to take a rescue call he got from the southern part of the state.  Bob was unable to get to it that day, so he offered it to me.  The cat had been in the tree for four nights already, and the owners were distraught.  I was free, so off I went. When I arrived, I met Scott and Nikki, the owners of the cat.   Scott's parents, Lee and Gale, were also on hand to watch the rescue.   They had tried everything they could think of to help their cat, Porche, down, but nothing worked.  Sleep at night was difficult when they could hear Porche's pitiful cries just outside. Porche is a one-and-a-half year old tortie and spends all of her time indoors.  She has slipped out the door before but always stayed very close and was always anxious to get back inside.  This time, however,...