Three Tough Kitties

Either I am losing my touch or I just happened to have three tough kitties in a row to rescue on consecutive days, or maybe it's both, but regardless, it has been a week where I find myself asking, "Why am I doing this?" Of course, I know the answer, but long, difficult rescues can cause me to forget temporarily and question my ability, and these three kitties caused me to do exactly that.

First was Baby Belle, a three-year-old kitty in Central, Louisiana who is normally just as sweet as her name sounds, but she took great offense at my audacious appearance in her Cypress tree which she had clearly claimed as her own by spending one night there. When I climbed the tree and was close enough to reach out to her, she let me know how outraged she was by growling, hissing, spitting and swatting at my hand. Of course, I backed off, but, over the next hour, I had no luck in reassuring her in any way or calming her demeanor in the slightest. All I got was more growling, hissing, spitting and swatting. The only thing I could do in her case was to go back down to the ground, retrieve my catch-pole, and climb back up to her while hoping she would be more receptive. Unfortunately, she still didn't like me the second time, so I slipped the noose of the catch-poke around her chest, lifted her out of her perch, and released her inside my net. Surprisingly, she handled that indignity without the slightest struggle or complaint. I took her back down and returned her safely to Amy who had been very worried about her. Baby Belle was happy with the end result too, but she would never admit that to me.

The next day, I got a call from Wayne who reported that the unknown cat I rescued in his Baton Rouge backyard tree three months ago had returned and was stuck in the same tree again. The first time I rescued this brown tabby beauty, he was so terrified that he simply froze in fear and let me pet him without any resistance. It was as if he simply surrendered to his fate. This time, when I got too close to him, he moved around to the other side of this large Oak tree and settled in the dense foliage. When I moved over there with him and began to touch him gently, he started growling. He was not going to surrender this time. I tried to work with him, but his disposition did not improve. I went back down to the ground, retrieved my trap, climbed back up, installed the trap in the tree close to him, and left. I had doubts that this ear-tipped boy would go into the trap since he likely was trapped once before, so I was greatly relieved the next morning when Wayne called to say that the cat was indeed inside the trap. I went back over there, climbed up to find him quite calm and settled in the trap, covered the trap, gently lowered the trap to the ground, and released him. Just like the first time, he ran straight for the corner of the yard where he knew there was an opening in the fence for him to escape. He didn't say, "thank you" or "see you later" or anything. He just left without saying a word.

From there, I went to Tangipahoa to rescue Whiskey, a three-year-old, bobtail kitty who had spent one night in a Sweetgum tree by the long driveway to his rural home. Michelle and her children were very worried about him, and the more they tried to lure him down, the higher he went in the tree. By the time I arrived, Whiskey was at the top junction and sounded desperate to get down. I thought this sociable boy would be an easy rescue, but, like the other two kitties before, he was scared of me and actually climbed higher up the top stem. I had trouble getting him to view me in a friendly light, and it didn't help that I created more noise, movement and commotion by struggling to get into an awkward spot to get closer to him. Sweet talk and food had no effect on him, so I had to get even closer so I could reach him and touch him gently. Once I did that, his disposition softened, and he became much more trusting and cooperative. I used a squeeze-tube treat to lure him onto my lap where I had prepared the cat bag. Once he was on my lap, I pulled the bag up around him and secured him inside. His sweet nature appeared at the end, but it just took a long time to get there.