Unknown White Cat
After rescuing an unknown black cat, I got a call to rescue an unknown white cat. Makes sense. That keeps everything in balance. This white cat appeared in Chantel's Live Oak tree next to her rural home near Watson and had been stuck there for at least four nights despite Chantel's relentless efforts to find a way to get it down.
I love Live Oak trees. They are a dream to climb, but they are a nightmare when trying to rescue a cat that is afraid of me. Cats have so much room to roam, and there is no way I can keep up with them. In Live Oaks, I really need the cat to come to me or let me go to him.
When I arrived, I was pleased to see the cat look down at me and talk to me, so I was hopeful I had a cooperative kitty to rescue here. But my hope was misplaced. When I climbed up to the cat's branch, I could not lure him to me for anything. He clearly recognized the sound when I opened a can of food for him, but he would not come any closer to me than ten feet to get it. Even when I put the food at the end of a long pole and placed it near him, he would not come any closer.
He appeared to be a tame cat that just didn't trust me, so it's possible that if I spent a lot more time with him, I could eventually get him to come to me. I had two other rescues to do and didn't have that much time to spend here, and there was no guarantee I could win him over, so I decided to set a trap for him. I went back down, got my trap, climbed back up and set up the trap for him. As I was setting the trap, suddenly he appeared much closer to me than ever before, and I wondered if I had given up trying to befriend him too soon. It was too late now, however, so I set the trap, went back down and walked around the house to get out of his sight.
After only a few minutes, I heard the sound of the trap door closing. I walked back around and saw that the cat was securely inside the trap. I didn't expect him to go into it this quickly, but I sure was happy he did. I climbed back up to him, and he was still eating the food in the trap. He was not bothered by my presence at all even though I was very close to him. I lowered him in the trap to the ground, and then lowered myself as well. We transferred him to a cage that Chantel had prepared for him, and she had already made a plan to get him to someone who would foster him. Now that the cat was out of the tree, he was proving to be very sweet. The next day, the foster had him neutered, vaccinated, and tested, and a potential adopter is already scheduled to see him soon if the original owner does not claim him.