Beauty

Beauty is her name, and it's a perfect fit for this pretty, four-year-old torby who belongs to Stella in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Stella always brings Beauty inside for the night, but this time, Beauty objected to her confinement and made a mad dash for the door. She escaped outside and resisted all of Stella's efforts to get her back inside. The next day, Stella found Beauty stuck in a tree at the fence line next to the house, and while Beauty was now eager to go back inside, she didn't know how to climb down the tree.

Beauty was only twenty feet high in the tree, but she had forty feet of tree above her she could use if needed. She is one who normally runs away from strangers, and I did not want to be chasing Beauty all over this tree. I approached her slowly and gently, and I was happy to find her calm and only slightly cautious. After a quick sniff of my hand and a gentle pat, she relaxed fully and we became friends very easily. She is not normally a lap-sitter, but I gave her a chance to step on my lap just in case she might feel so inclined. She never felt inclined so I prepared the cat bag on my arm instead. When I was ready to grab her scruff, I was puzzled by the way it felt in my hand. I could not grab her scruff well enough to lift her at all. The only thing I knew to do then was to drop the bag all around her and then work it under her as best I could. Thankfully, she was very docile and handled it all very well. She is safe and happy inside now, and, hopefully, has a new appreciation for the comfort and safety of the indoor life.