There were only two kitties in need of rescue this week. The first was Momma Catz in Erwinville, Louisiana who got stuck in a River Birch tree across the street and was very distressed about it. Her owner, Hannah, however, was even more distressed. Momma Catz had been stuck only one night, but that was far too long for both of them. I can't say that Momma Catz was particularly happy to see me in the tree with her, but she didn't try to get away from me either. She stayed in that crotch facing away from me and would not turn around to face me. I petted her and she seemed to tolerate it well enough. To pull her out of that crotch, I had to grab her by the scruff to lift her and then pull the bag around her. She and Hannah were mightily relieved and happy to be back home again.
The next rescue was for an unknown, orange-and-white cat who has been making irregular but frequent appearances at Nicole's rural home near Livingston, Louisiana for the past several months. He -- or is it a she -- would come by to steal food from Nicole's two cats, and they didn't seem to mind. He would never let Nicole get very close, but she always made sure he would have something to eat on those days when he appeared. When she found him stuck about 20 feet high in a tree in her front yard, she contacted me. He meowed nicely to me when I was on the ground below him, and I thought I might have a chance to befriend him. I climbed up toward him and stopped with my head below his level, and, as our eyes met for the first time, he stayed in place about eight feet away lying flat on the limb facing me. He didn't even lift his head as he gave me a relaxed hello. I took that as a very positive sign and then made the mistake of over-confidently climbing a little higher while my back was turned to him. When I turned back toward him, it was clear he was very uncomfortable with me. He stood up, looked out the limb and then down, explored his options, calculated his move, and then he leaned down and jumped to the ground. He spread his legs as he sailed downward, landed with a big belly flop, regained his footing, and then ran off into the nearby woods from where he came.
I pushed him too quickly and should have spent more time with him before climbing higher, but he seems to be fine. When I was on the ground, he acted like a tame, friendly cat, but when I was close to him, he acted like a feral cat. I got the impression he was once a tame cat but has been lost for a long time, or, since he appeared to be in good shape, maybe he lives nearby. I searched all the Lost Pets pages for old notices about him but did not find anything, so his story remains a mystery to me. You can see our entire, uncut, 30-second encounter in the video below.
