Sly

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 tree, some cats are scared and want to get away from me. Some cats are excited to see me and come to me as best they can. Some cats are cautious and sit tight while waiting to gather more information about me. Sly had very little reaction to me at all. He saw me as neither threatening nor helpful. He seemed more interested in taking a nap and viewed me as a harmless and useless distraction. I couldn't get him interested in me. I couldn't get him interested in food. I couldn't get him interested in coming one step closer to me for anything. Somehow, I was going to have to find a way to get closer to him.

I eventually figured out a way to move about five feet away and create a foothold where I could get a little higher and hook a pole over the end of his limb and pull the whole limb closer to me. Now, for the first time, I could barely reach him, and I used that opportunity to properly introduce myself to him and give him some gentle touches. That is usually all it takes for most cats to trust me and then make an effort to come to me, but it made no difference to Sly. I was going to have to pull him off that limb and bag him, and it was then that I realized I had left my cat bag on the ground. Rather than go to the trouble of retrieving the cat bag, I made the mistake of wasting too much time trying to get Sly to walk into the carrier instead. Sly had no clue about what to do with the carrier. It didn't bother him. It didn't attract him.

After I retrieved the cat bag and got back into position, I used a rope to pull Sly's limb over to me and hold it there while I petted him and then gently pulled him off his limb. He was perfectly fine with that and remained docile and quiet the whole time. I took him back down, and after Sly got settled back inside his house, he found a good spot on his cat tree and resumed the nap I had so rudely interrupted.