Little, Binx and Mabel

Max and Ronan were very worried about their one-year-old cat, Little, who was stuck in a tree at the edge of the woods behind the horse pasture by their house in Baker, Louisiana. Little had been perched about 50 feet high in a lonely and exposed spot at the end of a long, high limb for three nights, and they had run out of ideas to help him down until they found me after doing a quick search on the internet. Fortunately, Little is a friendly and sociable boy, and I did not have to work hard to get him to come along that limb to me near the trunk. He came to me, let me pet him, and was happy to have some company. He eagerly stepped on my lap where I had already spread the cat bag, and I pulled the sides of the bag up around him to secure him inside for the ride back down to the ground. Max and Ronan were happy to have Little safe in their arms again, and they took him home to recover from his miserable adventure. Later, they sent to me this picture of him sleeping soundly in a soft, comfortable bed, and that is exactly what I like to see.

Binx was only 20 feet high in a Pine tree and had been stuck there for only one night, but her family near Centreville, Mississippi was very concerned about her and asked me to help. Binx is normally friendly, but she was spooked by my rope installation and was not in any mood to see me coming up toward her. I waited below her for a long time to calm her down, but she was slow to be convinced of my good intentions. It was the food that seemed to make the difference, and this well-fed girl suddenly decided that I was her best friend. She stepped on my lap where I had spread the bottom of the cat bag, and I pulled the sides of the bag up around her to secure her inside. She was anxious to get out of that bag, but she was quite happy to be back down on the ground and free to resume her reign over her territory.

As soon as I began to leave Binx, I got a call for another rescue farther north in Mississippi. The timing was perfect since I was already halfway there, so off I went to rescue Mabel, a five-month-old kitty who had been stuck for three nights in a huge Oak tree in her yard. As I watched her from the ground, Mabel appeared to be desperately calling to me to save her, so I thought she would be an easy rescue. When I installed my rope, Mabel got very nervous. I thought she would calm down like most cats, but she continued to fret over that commotion I made, and she decided it was time to get out of that tree. She started climbing down backwards in perfect form, and I watched with a big smile on my face as she came down backwards closer and closer to me. When she was within my reach, I lifted her off the tree and set her down on the ground. I was expecting this to be an easy rescue, but not that easy. She returned home and made her family quite happy, and I am hoping she just learned a new skill that will serve her well if this ever happens again.