Cat Rescue Guy

Shadow is a six-month-old, black kitty who got stuck 40 feet high in a Sweetgum tree in her yard in Hammond. She didn't know how to climb back down, and her family was very worried about her. She had been in the tree only a few hours when they called me, but there were many scattered thunderstorms passing over the area, and I had to wait for the weather to clear. When the storms passed, it appeared I had enough time to do the rescue before the next storm arrived, so off I went. Shadow was completely quiet the entire time until I climbed up close to her. That is when I heard her cry for the first time, and it was not a happy cry. She was scared. I reached my hand out to her, and she reluctantly sniffed it and then let me touch her. A gentle pet on the head and back was all she needed to be fully reassured that I was friendly. With that introduction out of the way, she was very friendly and perfectly trusting of me. Shadow had already been stuck there during one rain storm, and anoth

We don't know exactly how long this poor, unknown, orange and white kitty was stuck 40 feet high in the tree, but it was at least seven days. She was lucky that Terry and Leslie, the neighbors who lived two doors down from this empty lot in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, noticed her and worked so hard to get her down. They even used a football to throw a string over a limb and then haul up a laundry basket so they could lower the cat to the ground, but the basket got stuck, and the cat did not get into it anyway. They put a lot of effort into helping this kitty they did not know, and they also attempted to find its owner, but all their efforts failed. Considering how much the cat cried to the people on the ground below, I was hopeful that she would be an easy rescue, but I was wrong. She became frightened when I climbed up to her, and she walked half way out a limb on the opposite side of the tree from me and perched there facing me. The nature of her cries and growls made it clear to

Elsa did it again. Just five days after her last rescue , Elsa got stuck in a tree again. She is an inside cat, but when you live with small children who are frequently going in and out the door, it's easy to find an opportunity to slip out. No one noticed when she slipped out the door, and no one knows why she climbed the tree, but, the next morning, Laurie found Elsa by following the sound of her cries down the road. There she was, 55 feet high near the top of the tree at the side of the road. At least this time, Laurie already knew who to call. Elsa normally runs and hides from people she does not know, but I would never know that from my limited experience with her. She seemed downright friendly with me this time. While it's true that she was near the top of the tree and had no other place to go to get away from me, she did not appear to be the least bit distressed or interested in getting away from me. She greeted me and let me pet her right away, and, when I put her in th

It has become a tradition. I always expect a last-minute rescue call whenever a tropical storm or hurricane is approaching, and so it was this time with tropical storm Claudette. The call came at 4:30 that afternoon just as the edge of the storm was causing some light rain to fall, but as I studied the forecast and radar picture, it appeared that I had a good chance to get this done right away. There was no lightning anywhere close yet, and the forecast showed that the rain would be ending in the area of the rescue. The call came from Laurie near Greensburg, and her sweet, one-year-old, indoor cat, Elsa, had been stuck in a tree one night already. Her plea for help on Facebook resulted in a referral to me, and she contacted me right away. Laurie told me that Elsa was very sweet with her but runs and hides from other people. When I arrived, Elsa was perched near the end of a very long, horizontal limb where indicated by the red circle in the picture. That limb comes from the large tree

My wife and I were getting ready to take a short day-trip to Mississippi to celebrate our wedding anniversary when the phone rang. The caller, Si, told me that his cat, Oscar, had been stuck in a tree for a full week and asked if I could help. I have a very understanding and flexible wife, and I know she would not want me to leave that cat in the tree for another day, so I told Si that I would be there in an hour. My wife and I decided to do our little trip the next day, so off I went to rescue this kitty in need. Oscar belongs to Si, Kimberly, and their three adorable daughters, and Oscar was stuck about 35 feet high  in a Cow Oak tree on the family's rural property near Greenwell Springs. Oscar is a very friendly, one-year-old, gray and white cat who is very well loved and treasured by the entire family, and he is special to them not only because of his sweet personality, but also because he has a cleft palate, though Oscar does not know that or care.  The whole family had been d