Dusty and Mittens

After his owner died and left him all alone, the big, black cat migrated across the highway in rural Killian, Louisiana to a house where he fortunately found a nice family. They recognized him and understood why he had come, so they welcomed him into their home and heart. When he first emerged from under their house, he was covered in cobwebs and dust, so they named him Dusty. Dusty has enjoyed a good life there for the past five years and is at least ten years old now, so when he recently got stuck in a tree in the backyard, he joined that small minority of senior kitties I have rescued in a tree.

While the tree gave me some climbing challenges, Dusty was an easy cat to rescue. He is a friendly, sedate kitty, and he was anxious for me to hurry up and get him down from there. I learned beforehand that he is very comfortable with his carrier at home and likes to get in it every day for a short nap or visit, and I was glad to hear that because I planned to rescue him using my carrier. Normally, I like to climb up level with the cat to rescue him, but in some cases, such as this one, the tree does not allow that, and the best I can do is get to where the cat is within reach but over my head. These overhead rescue scenarios are best handled with a carrier as long as the cat is agreeable. I simply hold the carrier up over my head in front of the cat, wait for the cat to step inside, and close the door while I lower him back down to me. That is the easiest and safest way to secure him in those situations, and that is exactly how it worked with Dusty. A comfortable carrier where he could spread out and relax was just what he wanted after being stuck on that limb for the past 24 hours, and, a few minutes later, he was on the ground enjoying the relief and freedom that he so badly wanted.

A few days later, Mittens got stuck in a tree in another "overhead" rescue situation in Denham Springs, Louisiana. Mittens was stuck about 40 feet high in the center intersection of a Y-shaped tree which was just inside a wooded area. A tree this large should have several places where I could install my climbing rope, but this tree had none other than the center intersection where Mittens was perched. There was one small limb almost halfway up the stem, and I decided to use it to get started and advance my way upward in small increments after that. Fortunately, the small limb turned out to be sturdy enough, but there were numerous vines, sprouts, limbs, and foliage from neighboring trees that made the climb pretty miserable. A light rain began to fall, but it didn't bother us since very few drops actually fell through the canopy onto us.

Mittens is known to be a friendly girl, and I could tell from her heart-breaking, desperate cries that she wanted help badly. She had already spent two nights in the tree, so I was expecting her to be cooperative. As I began to get closer to her, however, I noticed she was silent, and I could not see her leaning her head over the edge to look down at me anymore. In fact, I could not see her at all anymore, and I was very worried that she decided to climb higher. I looked all over the tree but could not see any sign of her, and she wasn't making any noise either. My heart was sinking at the thought of her climbing up to the top of one of the "Y" legs where I would not be able to go without some extreme effort. As I inched my way a little higher and closer to the intersection, I was extremely relieved to find her still there. She had become afraid of me and moved to the opposite side, but she was still there. I just needed to reassure her, so I poured on the charm.

Mittens turned out to be pretty easy to charm. She quickly recovered from her fear of me and was happy to let me pet her. We were solid friends now, but she was still in an overhead position, and I could not get much closer to her. I learned beforehand that she had never been in a carrier before, so I would expect her to have no fear of one. I pulled up my carrier and watched her as I began to move it over my head in front of her, and, as I did so, I could see her face change as she retreated in fear. I immediately withdrew the carrier and put it away, and Mittens recovered and came back toward me again. Just because a cat has never been in a carrier before doesn't mean she will be comfortable with it.

With the carrier option out, I was debating how to pull myself up higher when Mittens decided to come to me. She was clinging to the side of the tree trying to reach me, so I reached up, picked her up, and placed her on my lap. She settled there nicely on my lap, but if I had had a little more time, I could have had the bag ready for her. While she explored my lap, I got the bag ready, dropped it around her from above, and lifted her by the chest while I slipped the bag under her to secure her inside. After a quick trip back down to the ground, she was soon safe and happy at home.

I have essentially no video or pictures of Mittens because the cluttered tree happened to turn on my helmet-mounted camera when I bumped my head into limbs while I was struggling to climb up to her. I didn't know it was on, so when I reached her and thought I was turning my camera on, I actually turned it off instead.