Millie

How am I supposed to rescue a three-year-old cat who is skittish with strangers and doesn't like anyone to touch her or pick her up? Well, if it's Millie, the long-hair princess kitty in Hammond, Louisiana, the answer is simply to let her step on my lap. Of course, I spread the bottom of the cat bag over my lap first. I wasn't expecting it to be that easy, and I had been planning for all kinds of other options, but I approached Millie gently and slowly, and she responded with trust. That, and she desperately wanted to get down out of that tree after spending one long miserable night there. To be fair, she was certainly nervous when I first approached her, and at one point I could see her looking upward for an escape path even though she really didn't want to go there, but in the end, gentle patience won the game.

Millie was slow about getting on my lap. First, she placed only her front legs on my lap and then stepped back on the limb. She did that two more times and eventually crouched down on my lap but with her back end still on the limb. I think it was on the fifth attempt that she finally brought her back legs on my lap, and I was then able to pull the bag up around her. Throughout the rescue, I resisted the urge to touch her, but there were at least two times when she actually pushed her head into my hand. I rubbed the top of her head for a second on one of those occasions but dared not do any more. It helps to learn about the cat before attempting a rescue, and I got good information from her loving owners. They were also generous about giving me some excellent pictures of the rescue and Millie afterward.