Cat Rescue Guy

Crawfish's rescue was quite remarkable for the amazing way in which this one-and-a-half-year-old tabby boy managed to escape and rescue himself. He had been stuck in a Sweet Gum tree in the wooded area behind his house in Watson, Louisiana for three nights, and he was afraid of me when I climbed up into the tree with him. I tried to reassure him, and at one point, he sounded and appeared a bit more relaxed, but I should have spent more time with him to reassure him before struggling to get myself closer to him. By the time I was close to him, I looked up to see his terrified face (second picture below) as he decided it was time to escape. I'm glad he decided to go down instead of up, but what he did is something I have never seen before and didn't think possible. He had perched on the limb where it turned vertical, and below him it curved almost to horizontal before angling steeply down toward the trunk of the tree. In true crawfish fashion, Crawfish pushed himself backward...

When a tiny kitten mysteriously appeared in the storage building in the backyard of their home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Marlee and Brian were puzzled. No owner could be found, so they adopted the kitten into their home where she settled in quite nicely with their dogs. Nada is about seven months old now, and she got stuck for one night in a tree on the other side of the canal that borders their backyard. I could not approach the tree without wading through the water in the canal, and the tree was bordered on two sides by electrical power lines. I am very grateful for the nice and accommodating backyard neighbor who allowed me to approach the tree from her backyard, because I'm not sure I could have found a way to climb the tree otherwise. Nada was worried about me, but she didn't want to climb any higher. She let me get close and touch her, but she still had reservations about me. She was in an awkward spot to reach, so when I started working my way closer to her, I could see...

I felt very incompetent when trying to rescue Ollie. His situation was a bit delicate, and I wasn't sure what to do with this boy. Ollie is a three-year-old brown tabby belonging to Allison and Joyce in Albany, Louisiana, and Ollie had been missing for a few days when they finally found him stuck in a tree in the woods about 800 feet from home. It's quite remarkable that they even found him in the woods so far away, but they were determined to find him and did not give up. If Ollie came down or fell down out of the tree, it was not clear if he would know how to find his way back home. In addition, I had seen some loose dogs in the area, so I wanted to be sure that I secured Ollie in some kind of container such as a bag, carrier or trap. This is not a case where it is acceptable for the cat to jump or fall out of the tree unsecured, so, to play it safe, I gave Joyce a net to use to try to catch him if that should happen. My intention was to climb up there and get Ollie, but I wa...

Poncho picked a bad tree in a bad spot. This three-year-old kitty climbed a large, leaning tree surrounded by dense undergrowth next to a meandering ravine in the wooded area behind his house in rural St Francisville, Louisiana, and he had been stuck there for three nights. It was a difficult spot for installing a rope, and in the two hours it took me to finish the troublesome task, I had created quite a scary commotion in the tree.  Poncho is normally a sweet, friendly kitty, but he was not about to trust me in the tree with him  after what I had just done to him. He gave me the cold shoulder and hid his face from me. I knew he would relax once I gave him a gentle touch, but I didn't want to startle him, and I could not get him to look at me. I gave him some gentle pets anyway, and, as you can see in the video (below), that was all he needed to "flip the switch" and trust me. He turned around and introduced himself to me, and we became friends very quickly. Now that he w...

One look at Kiki Nunu's face, and you will see a very sweet kitty who is very much loved. Look a little closer, and you will also see a hyperactive trouble-maker. This four-month-old kitty is full of energy and life, and she wants to do and experience everything. It was only a matter of time before she climbed the tree in the corner of her backyard in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and learned that she didn't know how to go back down. She showed no restraint in expressing her distress in being stuck up there, and she let the whole neighborhood know it. While it was a little tricky for me to get a rope installed in this tree, Kiki Nunu's rescue was otherwise quite easy. She was ready for me and needed no introductions. She quickly stepped on my lap, and I pulled the bag up around her and took her home. After she took a nap to recover from her sleepless night in the tree, she was ready to go find some more trouble. After rescuing Kiki Nunu, I went to Denham Springs, Louisiana to resc...