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Cat stuck in a tree?

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It happens all the time. All cats are natural tree climbers, but when it is time to come down, some cats know how to climb down and some don’t. Those that don’t know how to come down are truly stuck. When the cat is stuck, the cat and its owner are both suffering, and that suffering is needlessly prolonged when numerous people convince the owner that all cats come down on their own. That is not true. Some cats will come down, but some won't. If the cat has had enough time to figure out how to come down on its own and is still stuck, then it's time for a rescue. Rescue Service Learn about my rescue service , view  video highlights  or a  gallery of images of past rescues, and read the blog of individual rescue stories using either the Rescue Stories page or the blog archive link in the sidebar. All the links, as well as my contact information, are in the navigation sidebar. All About Cats in Trees The subject of cats in trees is poorly understood by the general p...

Tonjiro

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It was a pleasant day for a stroll, so a certain one-year-old, black-and-white kitty named Tonjiro wandered away from his home in Walker, Louisiana and began to explore in a neighbor's yard. Tonjiro is a friendly, trusting boy, so he was a bit naively surprised when he found himself in the presence of seven dogs who, not only did not show the polite, southern courtesy of inviting him over for coffee and a friendly chat, but instead rudely took offense at his mere presence there and even began to protest in a very threatening manner. Tonjiro was taken aback, but he did not hesitate to see the seriousness of this encounter, so he discarded the book of etiquette and used his instinct instead to run for his life. He ran to a nearby tree and climbed it until he was out of reach of the dogs jumping up for him, and then he climbed some more just to be sure he was safe. He came to rest on a limb about forty feet high and settled there safe, at least for the moment, and with all his bold wh...

Martha

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Sweet cat. Simple climb. Easy rescue. That just about sums up the rescue of Martha in Hester, Louisiana. Martha is a friendly, gray tabby girl who just appeared in the neighborhood four weeks earlier, and everyone loved her and took care of her. No owner was ever found, so the whole neighborhood watched out for her, and Aimee and her sister, Amanda, took responsibility for her. Next door to Aimee is her father's auto repair shop where Amanda works, and Martha usually hangs out there in the office to supervise. Martha had been stuck about 45 feet high in the tree for three nights by the time I arrived to rescue her. She watched me intently as I prepared to climb up to her, and I could tell she was going to be a sweet and cooperative kitty. We made friends right away, and I spread the bottom of the cat bag over my lap and waited for her to step on my lap. When she did so, I took a little too much time pulling the bag up around her, and Martha was concerned enough about it that she ju...

Kitty

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I often get calls to rescue a cat when he has been stuck in the tree for only a few hours or even minutes. Generally, I don't rescue a cat unless he has been stuck in the tree at least one night, and the main reason for that is because many cats will come down on their own, and it's especially at night when they tend to do that. When possible, it is to everyone's benefit to give the cat an opportunity and challenge to learn how to climb down, because, if he does so, then he will have learned a valuable new skill which he can use to rescue himself the next time. It also saves me unnecessary work, risk, and time. It is also much easier to rescue a cat after he has had time to face the reality that he is indeed stuck and has had time to calm down and feel safe again, especially if he was chased there by a predator. If I go there too soon, I am likely to find a nervous and uncooperative cat, and that makes the rescue more difficult and risky. There are exceptions, however. For ...

Sly

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Cats are all the same, but every cat is different. Some cats, however, are more different than others, and Sly, the one-year-old Siamese in Pearl River, Louisiana, is among the more different. Sly had been stuck in a Live Oak tree in his own backyard for one night, and it was clear he was not happy about it. Nor were Ben and Tabitha who were very worried about Sly and explained to me that he is not just a cat to them. He is family.  Sly was described to me as friendly, but not the most intelligent of cats. I had a vague sense of what that means, but I didn't think it would have any effect on his rescue. Sly was in an isolated spot that would be difficult to reach, and that is a problem I often have with Live Oak trees and their far-spreading nature. Since I didn't have a way to climb all the way to him, I was counting on him to live up to his friendly reputation and come to me when I was standing at the base of his limb, but he didn't. When I first climb up to a cat in a tr...

Coon

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You would think that after all the hundreds of cases of cats in trees I have seen that I would be at least a little bit desensitized to the sound of their cry when they are calling out loudly for help, but when I arrived to rescue Coon in Picayune, Mississippi, I found his cry to be one of the most distressing and heart-breaking cries I have ever heard. This nine-month-old tabby was 55 feet high near the top of a tree at the edge of the woods, and he was all alone, helpless, and hopeless after spending two nights there. As you will hear in the video below, he cried loudly, emotionally, and persistently, and his cry drove straight into my heart and ignited a powerful, paternal instinct that would stop at nothing to help him. When his family first found him in the tree after his escape from the house, Coon was lower in the tree, clearly visible, and easily found by following his loud crying. After fruitlessly trying all they knew to get him down, they called me, and I agreed to go there ...