Sarah does not know why her four-month-old cat, Pepper, climbed the large Live Oak tree in the front yard early that evening, but she suspects it was probably due to a new, neighbor's cat who has recently been coming into her yard and harassing Pepper and her littermate, Smokey. Whatever the reason, there was Pepper sitting up high in the tree looking cute and helpless, and Sarah and her family failed in all their many efforts to get Pepper down. When they called me early the next morning, I was delighted to learn that they were just one mile down the road from me. It is so nice when I don't have to travel far. While I was preparing to climb the tree, Smokey came over to inspect me and my gear very thoroughly while Sarah explained that she got my phone number from her sister-in-law whose cat, Boo, I rescued five years ago, and that rescue -- actually, I rescued Boo twice -- was even closer to home.Pepper and Smokey are both well socialized and tolerant of the kinds of movements and noises that might frighten other cats, so Pepper was not bothered by my rope installation so close above her, and she was receptive to me when I climbed up to her. Once I got into position where I could sit on the branch near her, she came to me and introduced herself to me. I held a carrier perpendicular to the branch next to her, and she readily walked inside. It took me a minute to get her tail all the way inside, but then I closed the door and took her down. Pepper was not traumatized by it at all, so if that mean cat comes over again and chases her back up the tree, she won't mind if I rescue her again, and I won't mind either.
