Cat Rescue Guy

Poor Smudge was stuck in that tree for nine long days.  His gray, Russian Blue coat blended in well with the bark of the vine-ridden tree, and it took a long time for Judy to find him in this isolated tree near her rural home near Natchez, Mississippi. Judy spent agonizing days trying to get Smudge down and enlisting the help of everyone she could imagine, but nothing worked. Through it all, this ten-month-old kitty came down a bit and went back up a few times, but he could not figure out how to go all the way down. When I arrived, I could hear him crying desperately for help, but it took me a while to see him. He sounded like he would welcome anyone with any kind of help at all, but when I installed my rope in the tree above him, his cries changed to cries of fear. He became so frightened that he climbed down the stem of the tree almost ten feet. I thought he might come all the way down, but he stopped in a fork about 30 feet high and stayed there. I delayed climbing up to him to give

When I get an evening call for a rescue that I plan to do the following morning, I always ask the owner to verify that the cat is still in the tree shortly before I leave to go there for the rescue. Cats often come down or fall down out of the tree, especially overnight, so this verification saves me some unnecessary trips sometimes. So when Thomasine called me that morning to tell me that the unknown cat that had been stuck in her tree was no longer there, I was not surprised. However, I also know that cats move around the tree and can get into some places where they are very difficult to see, so I asked Thomasine to search the tree carefully to be sure. She was sure, so we assumed the cat was down and went home. That evening, I got another call from Thomasine saying the cat is back in the tree, and, again, the next morning, she told me it was no longer in the tree. Some cats can comfortably go up and down a tree, and this one may be using this tree as a safe, temporary resting spot.

Izzy's rescue was the kind that had me thinking it is time to retire from the cat rescue business. My first clue was the answer that Jennifer gave me when I asked the standard question about how Izzy normally reacts to strangers. It's the question I always ask everyone who calls me for a rescue, because it tells me what reaction to expect from the cat in the tree. Does the cat greet a stranger, run away from them or just stay and watch. When Jennifer said that Izzy runs from everyone including her, then I knew I was in trouble. Izzy is a normal, sweet cat most of the time. She loves to be close to Jennifer and sleeps with her, so it seemed odd that she would run from her when seeing her. While I was encouraged that Jennifer thought that Izzy would make friends with me as long as I approached her carefully, I also felt an ominous cloud hanging over me. Then I arrived at the site in Mandeville and saw the tree. The top of the tall tree curved over the yard next door, and the few

When James called me to rescue his cat, Inky, I was involved in an urgent project and had just committed to rescuing another cat, Midnight, in Picayune, Mississippi after that. I didn't think I would have enough time to finish the project, drive to Picayune, rescue Midnight, and drive back to Baton Rouge with enough daylight remaining to rescue Inky too. I could hear some disappointment in his voice when I told him that Inky's rescue would likely need to wait till the next morning, but he understood, and I promised to let him know if it worked out otherwise. Midnight had been stuck in the tree for two nights, and Inky had spent only one night in the tree, so Midnight was my priority.  Fortunately, Midnight's rescue went quicker than I expected, so, as I drove toward home after that rescue, I called James to let him know that I would be able to rescue Inky that day after all. He sounded relieved and happy to hear that. Inky is a six-month-old, black kitten that was stuck abo

Same old story. Loose dog chases cat. Cat escapes up tree. Cat gets stuck in tree. Cat owner frets. It's a frequently recurring story, and it's the story of these next two rescues for Midnight and Myshka. If those names sound familiar, it's because, just ten days ago, I posted about two rescues for cats named Midnight and Myshka. Myshka is the same cat as before, but Midnight is a different Midnight. However, this is the second rescue for Midnight who I rescued just one month ago. Got that? The Midnight of this rescue is the sweet, one-year-old, black kitty who lives in Picayune, Mississippi, and she got stuck in the same tree as before and had been stuck for two nights. She was not as high as before, but, unlike the last rescue, the tree had foliage this time which kept her well hidden and shaded. I always worry about how a cat will react to seeing me in the tree the second time, but Midnight readily greeted me and let me pet her.  Since she had a negative reaction to the

Poseidon's story is a familiar one. A loose dog chased this three-year-old orange tabby boy into the woods and up a Pine tree by his home near Latimer, Mississippi. He was stuck 35 feet high in an uncomfortable spot at the top of the skinny tree for three miserable nights before Kyle was able to find me. Poseidon was a little wary of me at first, but we made friends quickly and easily, and he was very cooperative as I put him in the bag and brought him down. He is happy to be back home now with his siblings, Zeus and Hades. Poseidon is a very photogenic boy, so I am devoting more space than usual to his pictures.

Laverne defeated me. This stubborn, ten-year-old kitty defied my every attempt to befriend her or get her out of the tree. Laverne has climbed this tree in her yard near Zachary several times, but she always lands on one of the lower limbs and comes down easily on her own. This time, however, she went higher and felt stuck there about 25 feet high. Jean tried to help her get down, but stubborn Laverne stayed put, and, after Laverne's third night in the tree, Jean called me for help. I should have expected Laverne to be scared of me.  After all, I had had a long string of scaredy cat rescues, and Laverne just happened to live next door to Karen, another scaredy cat I tried to rescue just four days earlier. But, still, I was naively hopeful that Laverne would be sweet and cooperative. I approached her calmly and gently, but Laverne decided from the beginning that my presence was unacceptable. She didn't fuss or hiss. She just let me know that I was not welcome, and, if I came any

Reese is a six-month-old black kitten that lives with Vera at her home which is set next to a  picturesque  creek in a beautiful, remote area of wooded hills near Natchez, Mississippi. For reasons unknown, Reese climbed a large, tall tree at the edge of the creek and got stuck 50 feet high. Vera tried everything she knew to do, but all her efforts and calls to local resources failed to produce any results. With the assistance of her out-of-state family, she was able to find me after Reese had spent five long nights in the tree. Reese may be only a six-month-old kitten, but she is one tough cookie. Not only did she manage to hang onto that tree for five nights and severe thunderstorms, she also managed to evade my every maneuver to rescue her by climbing higher and higher until she was holding onto the tiny wispy twigs at the tip of her vertical limb. When I first arrived and began to climb up to Reese, she was about 50 feet high on a limb that angled upward slightly, but when I got too

The cat's name is Karen, and she is an eight-month-old Siamese kitty who got stuck 35 feet high in a skinny tree at her rural home near the town of Zachary. Kaylyn sent this picture of her to me and said that Karen had been stuck in the tree on a skinny limb with her legs dangling for four nights. I think it is remarkable that a cat can stay on such a small limb for so long without falling, but Karen was tough and determined. Though Karen was supposed to be a reasonably friendly girl, I was not counting on that. I have recently had a long string of rescue cats who should have been friendly and cooperative but were not, and I have been questioning my cat charming and rescue abilities. When a cat looks at me like I am the cat-eating monster of their worst nightmares, it not only makes me wonder what I am doing wrong, it hurts my feelings. I was hoping that this would be the rescue where I could prove my ability to communicate my friendly intentions effectively and convince Karen that