Cat Rescue Guy

This next rescue in Zachary, Louisiana continues the same theme of the past two rescues in that it serves as a good example of how stressful it can be for both the cat and the owner when a cat gets stuck in a tree. Colby, a senior in high school, was so worried about his cat, Kiggy, that he called me at 10:00 at night after Kiggy had been stuck for only three hours. I had just gone to bed and turned off my phone, so I didn't get his message until the next morning, but I like people who care so much about their cat that they call for help right away to minimize the suffering. If I had been in his place, I probably would have called even sooner. Colby was up all night worried about his sweet cat. Kiggy was miserable too, and she fussed the whole time I was there on the ground preparing to climb up to her. When it took me a little longer than usual to get ready, she made it clear she was getting impatient and that I needed to hurry. This five-month-old kitty wanted off this short, dea

It's easy to have a disinterested response to the news of another rescue of a cat stuck in a tree. After all, it happens so frequently, and they are all mostly the same. But to the cat and the owner, this is not routine. This is usually the first and last time, and this is huge. It's dramatic, it's stressful, and there is nothing more important at that moment. As for me, after doing hundreds of rescues, they are common, but each one is certainly not routine. It may be an abstract case of a cat stuck in a tree while I am driving there, but, once I get there and see the cat in a miserable position in the tree, hear his intense cry, meet the owner, and sense the owner's distress and the deep meaning the cat has to her, then it becomes very real. This is important, and that was especially true for these next two rescues. Little Bit is a two-year-old, pale, flame-point Siamese cat who recently began learning the art of escaping out the door when it is left open a bit too lon

Gray had never been outside before, but he managed to escape his house in Livingston, run across the street, and climb a Live Oak tree where he soon discovered he did not know how to climb down. For an eight-month-old, Gray is a big boy who still has some kitten-like hyperactivity that makes it hard to stay still very long. When I first arrived after his one night in the tree, Gray was at the top of a long angled branch, but, by the time I was ready to install my rope in the tree, he had come down quite a bit and stopped where the branch became too vertical to manage. I set my rope in his original high spot and climbed up to him. Gray is a friendly, sociable boy, but all this activity and being outside made him nervous. Still, he greeted me and let me pet him right away, but soon his nervousness and kitten energy made it necessary for him to climb higher. I tried to block his path with my hand, but he slipped around it. I worked my way up a little higher, and, again, we had a friendly

Two black cats in two days. First was Black Butt in Walker who got chased up a tree when the neighbor's dogs escaped. Black Butt is four years old and had been stuck in the tree only a few hours, but Ashley could not bear to leave him there any longer. Because of limited access, I had to climb the tree on the opposite side of the trunk where Black Butt was perched on a short, dead stub. We couldn't see each other, and I didn't want to startle him, so I talked to him and frequently pulled myself around the trunk where he could see me climbing up to him. He responded to me by looking at me and speaking with a voice that did not sound distressed, so I continued to climb up to him slowly. Once I was close to him, I pulled myself around the trunk and was surprised to see only his butt. I had misread him. He was so uncomfortable with me so close that he decided to get out of there. He tried to climb down head-first but very quickly lost his footing with the loose bark of the Pine

While Marie and her husband were visiting the cemetery, they found a small kitten all alone. Even though they didn't want a kitten, they couldn't leave it there, so they took the little gray-and-white boy home to care for him temporarily until they could find a home for him. One year later, Tom is still there, and he has become a beloved member of the family. Unfortunately, a loose dog came into Tom's backyard near Franklinton and chased him up a tree, and he was stuck there for four nights before Marie finally found me. Marie was very worried about Tom, especially after a friend told her that their cat got stuck in a tree and died there after a long time because they were unable to find anyone to help. Fortunately, that was not to be Tom's fate. Tom was rescued fairly easily when he readily trusted me in the tree with him and walked into a carrier for a return to the ground. One more cat safely back on the ground. One more family relieved and happy about it.

Ash-Lin has a big heart for all animals and works as a veterinary technician, so, when a sweet, brown tabby girl showed up at her door, she tried to find her owner, and, when that failed, she adopted her, named her Kimchi, and gave her all the veterinary care she needed. Kimchi is now three and a half years old, and it is thought that the neighbor's dogs chased her up a tree in her own backyard in Livingston. Kimchi was stuck about 30 feet high near the top of an unhealthy tree with a broken top, and, when I arrived to rescue her after she spent one night in the tree, I heard her cry one of the saddest voices I have ever heard come from a cat. Every rescue case I see touches my heart, but hearing her voice touched me even more deeply. I could hear the misery and sadness in her soft voice, and I could also tell that she was going to live up to her reputation as a super-sweet, friendly girl. When I climbed up to her, she was calm and receptive. After giving her a few gentle touches,

After I returned home from Simon's rescue near Bunkie, I got a call from Alyssa about her cat, Boots, who had been stuck in a tree for seven days in Covington. She had just found him out in a wild, wooded area near her home, and he was high up in a spindly Pine tree. Finding him was quite an accomplishment, since, from the ground, he appeared as just a small spot high in one of many trees, and his cry sounded like it could be coming from every direction including on the ground. She created trails in the very dense undergrowth looking for him on the ground before finally realizing his cry was coming from up high, and then she found him 65 feet high in the tree. I didn't want this two-year-old boy to spend a seventh night in the tree, so I rushed out the door to be sure I had enough daylight to rescue him before sunset. If I had known in advance what was in store for me, I probably would have decided to wait till morning. I didn't know that I would spend a significant amount