Cat Rescue Guy

After the tragic death of her infant son, Melinda suffered through devastating grief. She eventually found herself in need of something that would help her crawl out of the deep hole of grief and focus on something other than herself and her painful loss. Melinda decided she wanted a cat, and when she learned about a one-year-old cat that needed a new home because its owner had died, she decided that was the cat for her. The cat needed her, and she needed it, and that is how Smokey, the gray tabby boy, became Melinda's therapy cat. Leaning on each other, they both learned to adapt to the new realities that life had forced upon them, and they both developed a very strong bond with each other. Smokey is four years old now and has been with Melinda for three years. Smokey is an inside cat, but Melinda does allow him some supervised outdoor time on pretty days. This time, however, Smokey somehow slipped off and got himself stuck in the next-door neighbor's tree. Melinda and her

It happened again. Sebastian, the sweet Ragdoll kitty of St. Francisville, got stuck in a tree again. Unlike the first time when he got stuck in a tree in his own front yard, this time, he wandered far off before finding a tree to his liking. Because he was so far away, his owners, Devin and Kaitlin, could not find him. While they searched, the people who lived across the street from the tree where Sebastian was trapped eventually heard him cry and tried to find him. Sebastian was not easy to see, because the tree he was in was covered with vines. But they found him and did everything they could to help him down. When all their efforts failed, they published a post on Facebook about him, and that is when Devin and Kaitlin learned where he was. They went over there to check, and, sure enough, there was their Sebastian. By this time, Sebastian had been in the tree for four days. I was expecting the rescue to be quick and easy, because Sebastian is a sweet, friendly boy with a typica

After rescuing numerous cats in trees, I have learned two very important lessons about patience. The first lesson is that patience is a virtue that will be rewarded with a safe and gentle rescue. The second lesson is that patience is just a big waste of time. The lesson I can't seem to figure out is how to determine ahead of time when patience is a virtue or a waste. How can I look at an uncooperative cat in a tree and determine if he will eventually warm up to me in 15 minutes or not in a million years? That is the question I had about Crazy, the two-year-old gray tabby that was stuck in a tree next to a wild, overgrown creek behind his backyard. As always, I asked many questions about him beforehand to help me predict the likelihood of befriending him, but the answers I got were either contradictory or revealed a borderline friendly-skittish personality. I didn't know what to expect, but I was hopeful I could make friends with this boy and bring him down in a peaceful and

For the most part, it seems that the cats have been obeying the stay-at-home order. At least, it seems that way since I have had very few rescue calls lately. But that is probably just a coincidence, since we all know that cats don't obey orders. Regardless, I know at least three kitties who violated the order and got themselves stuck in a tree. First, there was three-year-old Sparky in coastal Mississippi. Sparky got stuck in the next-door neighbor's Pine tree for two nights, and he was not happy to see me. He thought it best to avoid me at all costs, so, as I approached him, he climbed up higher until he was at the tip-top of the tree. Sparky is a big orange boy, but he is much lighter than I am, so I could not climb as high as he did. I got close enough that I could try to scoop him into a net, but Sparky did not give me much of a chance to try. When he saw that net approaching him, he bailed out. He jumped about 60 feet to the ground and ran into a shed to hide. He hid

Rescues continue despite the pandemic, though with proper social distancing, of course. My reporting of the rescues, however, has been hindered by a certain kitten I am fostering. I recently rescued a super sweet, seven-month-old calico (Willow) out of a tree just off the interstate, and I have been fostering her ever since while I work to find a good home for her. She is a very sociable girl and does not allow me very much uninterrupted time, especially at the computer, so things like editing videos and writing rescue stories have taken a back seat. So, quickly, before she discovers me at the computer again, here is a brief report of three rescues. First, there was the sweet gray and white tabby that got stuck on the roof of a two-story apartment building in Baton Rouge. This kitty is known to the area residents, but it is not known if she has an actual home. Several people were concerned about her and independently contacted me because she is a friendly and sociable