Cat Rescue Guy

A bolder cat may have been able to find a way down this tree on his own, but this unknown white cat with brown and black patches was stuck. The tree had a small, vine-covered stem that leaned and curved away very badly, and the cat was settled about 20 feet high at the apex of the curve where the stem was horizontal and tangled in vines. The slope of the stem back toward the ground was not so severe that a bold cat could not have managed to come down on his own, especially with all the numerous small limbs along the way that could serve as footholds. But the vines were an impediment, and the thin, smooth bark of the tree made the footing a bit slippery, so this kitty stayed put even through a night of cold weather with a temperature in the mid-20s. It wasn't quick and easy to climb up the main tree and get within reach of the cat. His stem was not large enough to support my weight, so I had to support it with a rope connected to the main tree and then break many vines out of the wa...

The weather played a role in the next two rescues by adding to the misery of both cats. It was bad enough just to be stuck in a tree, but a cold front pushed through the area and brought rain and strong winds to make it all worse. Poor Bella got wet in the rain and tossed by the wind in the top of her tree, while Sookie stayed dry but suffered in the cold with blustery winds. Bella, a four-year-old black beauty, was stuck for one night about 30 feet high in the top of a tree in Greenwell Springs, and her concerned family worked very hard to find a way to get her down before calling me. Bella was not particularly friendly with me, but she tolerated me, especially since she had no place to go to get away from me. Fortunately, she loves to eat, so my offer of food was well received, and I used that food to lure her into the carrier and bring her down to a much-relieved and grateful family. Sookie is a one-year-old calico who was stuck in a Live Oak tree in Denham Springs for a whopping se...

I had two rescues scheduled for the morning, and Cairo in Prairieville was the first. Cairo is an orange-and-white boy who has been stuck over 40 feet high in a Sweetgum tree just inside the woods behind his house. Cairo was a friendly boy, but he was not a cooperative boy. He greeted me, and we made friends right away, but, after that, I had trouble getting his attention. He would sit there with his back to me rubbing his face on the vines or walk three feet out the limb and back, but he would not step on my lap or into a carrier. When I tried to pick him up and place him in my lap, he protested and squirmed out of my hands. After patiently trying over and over to secure him in a gentle way, I gave up and just grabbed him by the scruff and pulled the bag over him. He wasn't happy about that and fussed a bit on the way to the ground, but he was happy once he found himself back home. After Cairo, I went back to Baton Rouge to rescue Vera who had been stuck overnight in a Live Oak tr...

Figaro is a sweet, four-year-old, black-and-white kitty with a love for the outdoors, and she got stuck in a tree across the street from her house in Picayune, Mississippi and was stuck there for two nights by the time I arrived to rescue her. I have been fortunate to have several sweet, easy-to-rescue kitties lately, and Figaro continued the trend. She cried while she waited for me to climb up to her, and she was happy to see me. I spread the cat bag over my lap, she stepped onto my lap, and I pulled the bag up around her and brought her down. She went back inside to eat and take a nap in the clothes basket, and then she was back to her old self again.

Sweet Kitty was the third and final rescue I had that day after the unknown white cat in Picayune and the unknown black cat in Denham Springs which turned out to be Milo. I could not have asked for an easier and sweeter cat to rescue. Just like Milo, Sweet Kitty is a six-month-old, black, male kitten that had been stuck in a tree one night. Sweet Kitty was only 20 feet high in a Pine tree in Baton Rouge, and he had no problem with my rope installation. In fact, he was a bit intrigued by the whole process and saw the string I had hung over the limb as a toy. I had to pull it away from him before I could finish installing my rope. When I climbed up to him, he was friendly and ready for rescue. As I pulled the carrier up for him, the front door came loose, so I held the carrier at the edge of my lap as I struggled to get the door back in place. The carrier was angled downward, but Sweet Kitty didn't mind. Before I was ready for him, he stepped on my lap and walked right into the angle...