Princess

One thing I have learned about cat owners when their cat gets stuck in a tree is that they tend to exaggerate the length of time the cat has been stuck. If the cat was stuck one night, they call it two days because the cat went up at the end of one day and was still there the next morning even though the total elapsed time was much less than 24 hours. When the cat has been stuck three nights, the owners feel it has been a week. If the cat was stuck a week, they call it two weeks. I do not blame or fault them one bit because time truly drags slowly when you're stressed about the cat, and the time period most certainly feels much longer than it actually is. I'm sure I would do the same, but to understand the cat I am about to rescue, I need to know the actual length of time, so, in addition to asking how long the cat was in the tree, I also ask for more details to get them to think about it more precisely so I can learn if they are exaggerating or not. When I asked Amanda how long her cat, Princess, has been in the tree, she told me, "About a week and a half." When I pressed for more information, she knew the exact date because it was a very bad day when many things went horribly wrong, only one of which was her cat escaping the house and climbing the tree. Amanda was not exaggerating. Princess had actually been stuck in the tree for twelve nights.

Princess is a super-sweet, ten-month-old kitty who lives with Amanda in Watson, Louisiana. Princess is an inside-only kitty who had just moved to her new house when she escaped, so she had no idea where she was. It is very fortunate that she climbed a tree and got stuck there, because, otherwise, she may have become seriously lost. This means that it is even more important that I secure her in the tree and not let her go down or fall down on her own.

I think Princess would have readily welcomed me in the tree with her if I had not first frightened her so badly with my rope installation. I thought the rope installation went pretty smoothly, but it was still enough to scare Princess out to the end of a flimsy limb, and when I climbed up to her, she would not even consider coming toward me. The limb was so flimsy that just tapping on it with my fingers was enough to shake her at the end, and because it was wet from the rain, it was also slippery as well. We were forty feet high, and I needed to be very careful with my movements toward her so that I did not cause her to fall. I needed her to come calmly to me, so I tried to lure her to me, but she was unimpressed with my cat charming skills. It was when I opened a can of food that she changed her mind. She recognized that sound and began walking to me as if we were old friends. She let me pet her, and she stepped up on my lap to reach the food. I was not prepared with the cat bag, so I jammed the food between some gear to hold it in place while I used my hands to get my cat bag ready. Princess focused on the food while I prepared the cat bag on my arm. I don't like to scruff a cat if it isn't necessary, and I didn't think it necessary this time, but my hand was still in position to do so if she reacted badly. I dropped the sides of the bag all around her from above, and I placed my hand under her chest and lifted her while the other hand gathered the bag beneath her to secure her inside. Princess remained perfectly docile the whole time, and she remained calm for the entire ride back down to the ground. Princess is safe at home now, and Amanda has made sure to block off the point of escape so this cannot happen again, but if it does, I won't mind rescuing this sweet girl again, and I don't think she will either.