Sparky, Elizabeth and Unknown

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 there for a few hours until he felt it was safe to come out, and then he went home acting as if nothing had happened. He is fine.


Then there was Elizabeth, as in Queen Elizabeth, except this one is a three-year-old, black-and-white kitty who got stuck in a tree in her backyard for one night. She seemed okay when I shot my weighted bag into the tree above her, but when I started manipulating the bag to fall where I wanted, she felt just like Sparky did and decided it was time to get out of there. She tried to climb straight down the trunk but fell part of the way and ran behind a fence for safety. She came out 20 minutes after I left and was happy to be back home.


The third rescue was for an unknown kitty that had been stuck in a large Tallow tree for one night. He cried to people below, so he appeared to be tame, but that doesn't mean he will be happy to see me in the tree. I climbed up to him carefully and felt very lucky that he allowed me to approach and make friends with him. After a little petting, I gave him some food which he greatly appreciated, but not so much that he would walk into a carrier for it. I bagged him instead and brought him down. On the ground, I slowly lowered the bag around him and showed him the food. He remained very calm, and, unlike most cats who dart out of the bag to escape, he sat there motionless and appeared bewildered that he was on the ground. I checked him for a microchip but did not find one. I let him finish eating his food in peace, and when I turned back around, both he and the food were gone. He seemed to be in good shape, so I am hoping he lives nearby and found his way home.