Cat Rescue Guy

My favorite way to bring a cat down from a tree is on my lap. I will usually have a hand on him ready to restrain him from jumping down too soon if needed, but, otherwise, he is not contained in a bag or carrier, he can see exactly what is happening, and he feels more of a sense of control over his situation. Of course, I don't do this very often because certain requirements must be met before it can be considered a safe and appropriate option, yet, despite its uncommon occurrence, I have already done two of these just within the first week of the new year. The first was for Violet, a sweet, six-month-old black kitty who was stuck about 20 feet high in a dying tree in her yard in Walker, Louisiana. Violet is one sibling in an orphaned litter of kittens who Claudia has been raising with great care since they were all extremely tiny. Violet and her siblings are all well socialized, so I had no trouble making friends with her in the tree. After we got acquainted with each other, I pic...

I was surprised when I looked back at all the rescues of the 2025 calendar year and found that I finished the year with a total of 96. That isn't many compared to some rescuers, but that is 96 cats and at least 96 cat owners whose suffering was relieved, and I am proud to have a hand in that. Included in that group are these next three rescues which were the last three of the year, and, yes, I am a bit behind schedule as 2026 has already gotten off to a fast start. First is Sophia, a six-year-old black kitty with no tail who was stuck for only 12 hours in a tree in her yard in Watson, Louisiana. She wasn't very friendly with me, but she tolerated me politely even when I bagged her. When I took her down to the ground, I set her down on the ground while I disconnected everything so that I could carry her back to the house. Before I could finish, I noticed movement in the corner of my eye and looked up to find that she had quietly escaped out of the bag, a feat I did not think pos...

Prada is the sweetest cat I have ever rescued, so when I got the call that this six-year-old got stuck in the same tree a second time, I was happy to go rescue her again. Prada lives in Sunset, Louisiana with a family that includes two dogs, so when the dogs are let out into the backyard, Prada likes to try to escape with them. Her family has done a good job of preventing that, but they were out of town when Prada took advantage of the unsuspecting pet sitter and slipped out the door with the dogs. I don't know why she climbed the tree behind the fence, but there she was, and she was stuck for one night. Prada was very happy to see me in the tree with her. After we reintroduced ourselves, she relaxed and started purring while walking around and repeatedly rubbing her head and face on my hands, arms, face, ropes, gear, tree, and my camera which is when you will especially be able to hear her purring in the video (below). She was so intent and persistent in rubbing her face on everyt...

As soon as I stepped out of my car early that morning, I could hear the most heart-breaking cries I have ever heard from a cat in a tree. The cries of desperation and emergency were coming from high in a tree in the middle of a wooded area, but I could not see the cat. As I stood there standing in awe of the loud cry coming from this eight-month-old kitty, Heather joined me and pointed to her about 50 feet high. The cat's name is Paris, and, fortunately, she is the friendly one. The other cat, Paris's littermate, is Jolie, and she is not friendly. Just as Heather told me that, Jolie walked up to me and started rubbing her body against my legs. I reached down and petted her, and she pushed her body up into my hand in enjoyment of this attention from a stranger. If Jolie is the one that is not friendly, I can't wait to meet Paris. Paris has been stuck in this tree by her home near Youngsville, Louisiana for three cold nights, and the third night she had just endured was the c...

For a ten-month-old kitty, Isaiah sure did wander far from his home in Watson, Louisiana before getting stuck in a tree. From the driveway, we had to walk 500 feet to the wooded area and then another 300 feet through the woods to find him almost 70 feet high in a Sweetgum tree. It took his family five days to find him, and he is lucky that they did. Usually, when a cat gets stuck in a tree in a wooded area, it is along the edge, so finding Isaiah so deep is unusual and unexpected. Isaiah is normally a very friendly boy, even with strangers, but he was scared when I started climbing up to him, and it took me thirty minutes to calm him down to the point where he could trust me. It was probably the Churu squeeze-tube treat that won him over. Once he allowed himself to taste it, he lapped it up like the desperately starving kitty that he was. With each lick, he made yum-yum vocal noises which were cute, funny and pitifully sad. Poor thing. This was the first taste of food he has had in fiv...