Cat Rescue Guy

Meghan is quite a cat lover, and she has several cats of her own, including one six-month-old Ragdoll, named DaVinci, who is very special to her. DaVinci is not allowed outside, but he managed to escape and climb the large Live Oak tree in the backyard. Meghan lovingly describes DaVinci as "not very bright" unlike his namesake, and DaVinci not only climbed the tree, but he also went thirty feet high which, in a Live Oak, is very high and getting into the small wood. Of course, DaVinci did not know how to climb down, so he was stuck there, and Meghan was very distressed. She and her family "moved mountains" to help DaVinci down, but failed in their efforts which only added to the distress. DaVinci wasn't happy either, and he was complaining constantly about his plight and their lack of success. At her wit's end, Meghan called me and asked for help. I heard the distress in her voice and her need for a quick resolution, and I understood how much her baby meant ...

After I arrived at Bridget's home in Denham Springs, Louisiana to rescue her cat, I was talking to her to learn as much as I could about her cat so I would know how best to manage the rescue. Of course, one of the things I want to know is the cat's name. When Bridget told me the cat's name, she paused a bit before telling me the story behind the name. About two years ago, Bridget adopted an eight-year-old boy whose mother had just died suddenly. Shortly after his adoption, the boy asked if he could have a cat, and that is when they adopted a sweet, black-and-white, girl kitty. When Bridget asked him what he wanted to name the cat, he said, "Breezy." She smiled and understood, because his mother's name was Bree. I always feel pressure to get every cat down safely, but stories like that add even more weight to my shoulders. Breezy is now a year and a half old, and she is stuck just over thirty feet high in a small tree located by the driveway. I could tell how m...

It was a pleasant day for a stroll, so a certain one-year-old, black-and-white kitty named Tonjiro wandered away from his home in Walker, Louisiana and began to explore in a neighbor's yard. Tonjiro is a friendly, trusting boy, so he was a bit naively surprised when he found himself in the presence of seven dogs who, not only did not show the polite, southern courtesy of inviting him over for coffee and a friendly chat, but instead rudely took offense at his mere presence there and even began to protest in a very threatening manner. Tonjiro was taken aback, but he did not hesitate to see the seriousness of this encounter, so he discarded the book of etiquette and used his instinct instead to run for his life. He ran to a nearby tree and climbed it until he was out of reach of the dogs jumping up for him, and then he climbed some more just to be sure he was safe. He came to rest on a limb about forty feet high and settled there safe, at least for the moment, and with all his bold wh...

Sweet cat. Simple climb. Easy rescue. That just about sums up the rescue of Martha in Hester, Louisiana. Martha is a friendly, gray tabby girl who just appeared in the neighborhood four weeks earlier, and everyone loved her and took care of her. No owner was ever found, so the whole neighborhood watched out for her, and Aimee and her sister, Amanda, took responsibility for her. Next door to Aimee is her father's auto repair shop where Amanda works, and Martha usually hangs out there in the office to supervise. Martha had been stuck about 45 feet high in the tree for three nights by the time I arrived to rescue her. She watched me intently as I prepared to climb up to her, and I could tell she was going to be a sweet and cooperative kitty. We made friends right away, and I spread the bottom of the cat bag over my lap and waited for her to step on my lap. When she did so, I took a little too much time pulling the bag up around her, and Martha was concerned enough about it that she ju...

I often get calls to rescue a cat when he has been stuck in the tree for only a few hours or even minutes. Generally, I don't rescue a cat unless he has been stuck in the tree at least one night, and the main reason for that is because many cats will come down on their own, and it's especially at night when they tend to do that. When possible, it is to everyone's benefit to give the cat an opportunity and challenge to learn how to climb down, because, if he does so, then he will have learned a valuable new skill which he can use to rescue himself the next time. It also saves me unnecessary work, risk, and time. It is also much easier to rescue a cat after he has had time to face the reality that he is indeed stuck and has had time to calm down and feel safe again, especially if he was chased there by a predator. If I go there too soon, I am likely to find a nervous and uncooperative cat, and that makes the rescue more difficult and risky. There are exceptions, however. For ...

Cats are all the same, but every cat is different. Some cats, however, are more different than others, and Sly, the one-year-old Siamese in Pearl River, Louisiana, is among the more different. Sly had been stuck in a Live Oak tree in his own backyard for one night, and it was clear he was not happy about it. Nor were Ben and Tabitha who were very worried about Sly and explained to me that he is not just a cat to them. He is family.  Sly was described to me as friendly, but not the most intelligent of cats. I had a vague sense of what that means, but I didn't think it would have any effect on his rescue. Sly was in an isolated spot that would be difficult to reach, and that is a problem I often have with Live Oak trees and their far-spreading nature. Since I didn't have a way to climb all the way to him, I was counting on him to live up to his friendly reputation and come to me when I was standing at the base of his limb, but he didn't. When I first climb up to a cat in a tr...