Boo could not make up his mind. First, he was afraid of me, then he liked me, then he was afraid of me again, then I was okay, and then he was afraid again. This mind-changing exercise happened several times, and each time Boo became afraid of me, he climbed higher in the tree. Boo is a one-year-old, gray and white tabby kitty who got stuck in a tree in the woods behind his home in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and he had been there one night before I arrived to rescue him. He was at the yellow circle in the picture when I arrived, but, by the end of the rescue, he was at the red circle about 40 feet high.
When I first approached Boo when he was at the yellow circle, I introduced myself, and he seemed comfortable with me. Just as I was thinking this would be a quick and easy rescue, Boo, for reasons I don't know, decided he didn't trust me and climbed up a bit higher. We repeated this pattern until he eventually reached as far as he could go, and, at that point, we experienced a little drama when he slipped off the limb. He was dangling by his front paws, and, fortunately, I was close enough to reach under him to lift his butt back up on the limb. He didn't thank me, but I think his regard for me improved at least by a few points. It was time to bring this lengthy drama to an end, so I lured him closer to me, grabbed him by the scruff and pulled the cat bag all around him. With him secured in the bag, I reassured him a minute and then took him down.
I should explain that the poor quality of the pictures is due to condensation that formed on the lens during this humid day in the woods. Also, with all the starts and stops during the rescue, I turned my camera on and off so many times that I lost track and missed the final moment of rescue. The only useful video I do have is that of Boo's dramatic slip and recovery, and that is the final item below.
