Cat Rescue Guy

This is going to be quick and easy. That is what I thought when I first arrived to rescue Wylde, a friendly four-month-old kitty who belongs to Janie in Biloxi, Mississippi. Wylde was pleading desperately to us on the ground to come rescue him after spending four nights in the tree, and there was no reason to expect him to be anything but friendly and cooperative during a rescue. His family had called all the local rescue resources without success, and they even pulled an "elevator' up to Wylde, but that, too, failed. Wylde handled my rope installation well, but when I began to climb up to him, I noticed he had a troubled look on his face. He began to back away as I got closer, so I stopped and expected him to calm down after some sweet talk and reassurance. Wylde, however, was not impressed by my sweet talk. In fact, he seemed more troubled by it, and he turned around and began walking far out the long branch of this Live Oak tree. Silly me. I still naively thought I could lu...

It is very common these days to see videos of people taking their cat on some kind of outdoor adventure whether it is a walk in the park, hiking in the wilderness, camping, boating, cycling or just about any other kind of activity. These videos can be very fun to watch, and I often marvel and delight in the stimulation and experience that the cat is getting. I even feel quite envious and would love to have my own cat accompany me on such outings. At the same time, I cringe and feel very tense at the risk they are taking with their cat, and I want to shout, "NO! Don't do that! And especially don't encourage others to do that!" I understand. It looks like great fun for both you and the cat, but rare is the cat who can go into unfamiliar territory and feel unbothered by it. I know everyone thinks that their cat is that rare one, but it almost certainly is not. Maybe you have done this a few times before without any problem, but, if so, you have been lucky. All cats who a...