Dewey

Cats sure can cause a lot of trouble. Not only can they cause trouble for their own family, but they can cause trouble for anyone who happens to be nearby. For example, when you find an unknown cat stuck in a tree in your yard, like it or not, you suddenly have the trouble of being responsible for the cat. It doesn't matter if you don't have time or even if you hate cats, you have the trouble of finding someone who can rescue the cat, and then you need to take care of the cat until you find its owner. If the owner is not found, then you need to find a home for the cat. That's trouble, and many people simply won't or can't put out that much effort to help an unknown cat. Depending on who, if anyone, takes responsibility for the cat, the cat's eventual fate can range anywhere between sublime and tragic.

Dewey was lucky. He was lucky because he happened to get stuck in a tree on the property belonging to Lamar and Stacy, and they were willing to go to the trouble of helping him even though they did not recognize him. First, after a few phone calls and an internet search, they found me to rescue him. When I brought the cat down and it was clear that he was tame and surely belonged to someone, they kept him contained in a carrier with food and water while they worked to find the owner. Lamar began knocking on doors in the neighborhood while Stacy posted a notice on a local Facebook page. In less than two hours, they found the owner and returned the cat to his loving family who was very happy to find him. That is when we learned his name is Dewey and his age is eight months.

Even before I climbed up to him, I could tell that Dewey was going to be sweet by the way he spoke while looking at me and the way he rubbed his head against the tree as I approached. He was about 35 feet high and had been stuck for one night, and he was happy to have some company. We became friends quickly in the tree, and then he stepped on my lap. I had already spread the bottom of the cat bag over my lap, so all I had to do was pull the sides of the bag up around him to secure him inside. Once we were back down on the ground, I scanned him for a microchip while he was still in the bag and then transferred him to a carrier with food and water. Since I didn't find a microchip and he had no collar, Lamar and Stacy began planning their next move.

Not all cases like this have happy endings or have them so quickly, but not everyone is like Lamar and Stacy. Dewey was lucky to get stuck where he did, and his family is lucky to have such outstanding neighbors. It actually seems quite sad to think their exemplary behavior is so praise-worthy when it should be considered the norm and expected. Regardless, cats sure can cause some trouble, and I hope that everyone can find a way to accept it when they find themselves in similar situations. It can make a life-or-death difference to the cat and a joy-or-tragedy difference to the family.