Cat Rescue Guy

The severe cold wave that has invaded my area -- and is still holding us in a freezing chokehold as I write -- caused a flurry of rescue calls for cats who were stuck in a tree. The first call was for Wendy, a cat that I rescued in Baton Rouge just a few hours before the cold wave invasion. More about her below. Later that evening, as the rain was beginning to freeze, I got two calls within one minute of each other. One was in Walker, and the other was in New Orleans. Travel was beginning to become dangerous, but, fortunately, both rescues resolved on their own before I could do anything but think about it. One cat came down on its own, and the other was rescued by someone local. During the night, I got a message about another cat in Napoleonville, but, luckily, they were able to get the cat down on their own, though I never learned how. So I feel very lucky to have avoided three rescues in miserable cold, and I also feel lucky that I was able to rescue a sweet cat like Wendy. Wendy is...

My favorite way to bring a cat down from a tree is on my lap. That is the simplest, most natural and most pleasant way to bring a cat down, but it's rare that I get to do it. Most of the time, it's simply not feasible or suitable, usually because it would not be safe, so to determine when it is appropriate, I have a checklist of requirements that must be met before I will consider it. When I arrived to rescue Simon near Bunkie, it was clear that this would be one time when a lap rescue might be appropriate. He was only 20 feet high in a tree that is easy to climb, and as I walked around the tree, he followed me and walked out long limbs to get as close to me as he could. Knowing this seven-month-old, part Maine coon is fond of sitting on the laps of his family, I was pretty sure he would want to step on my lap as well. Even as I was installing my rope in the tree, I was already going through my checklist: Cat does not need to be secured for any special reason. Check. We are les...

I did a sweet little rescue today, and they don't get much easier than this. It was a calico kitty found about 25 feet high in a Sweetgum tree in Denham Springs, and no one knew anything about the cat. I climbed up to her, and she was ready and waiting for me. She wanted to step on my lap right away, but I delayed her until I could spread the cat bag over my lap first. Once that was done, she stepped on my lap as if I were family. She rubbed her head on my arm, settled in, and showed me she fully trusted me even while I pulled the bag up around her. I did not find a microchip on her, but she is in good hands now, and efforts are being made to find her family.

Considering all the many and various types of suffering there are in this world, a cat stuck in a tree doesn't rank among the worst, but it's still a miserable time for a cat and worthy of relief. I was reminded of this after rescuing an unknown tabby boy in Maurepas who had been stuck in a tree for one freezing night. He was about 30 feet high in a Sweetgum tree and clearly miserable. He cried frequently to people below, but, to him, they appeared to go on about their activity without concern for him. He sat there uncomfortably on one round, rough limb restricted in movement and position while constantly being careful not to step off and fall. People, cars, and other animals passed below, but no one was doing anything to help him. As darkness fell, so did the temperature, and he had no place to go. He was exposed and lonely, and he had no reason to believe this would ever end. However, Shannon was one of those people below who heard his cry, and she noticed his plight. Even th...

After having a dream rescue, I would expect the next rescue to be a nightmare, but it wasn't quite that bad. The next rescue was for one-year-old Loki in Picayune, Mississippi, and, while it wasn't a nightmare, it certainly was troublesome. First, there was the tree in which Loki had spent two nights. The tree was in a wooded area next to his home, and it leaned significantly and curved until it was horizontal. All the weight of the tree was to one side, and I wondered if my added weight might be enough to pull the entire tree down. I felt more confident after I installed my rope and successfully tested it with twice my weight, but I still wasn't perfectly comfortable with it. Loki was on the level part of the stem, and the level part was very long. If Loki was afraid of me, he had a long way to go to get away from me, and there would be no way I could follow or reach him. I was not comfortable hanging my weight any farther out the stem where it would have more leverage on ...