Cat Rescue Guy

How am I supposed to rescue a skittish cat at the top of a dead tree? That was the problem I faced when I was called out to Watson, Louisiana to rescue Chrissy, a one-year-old calico who had been stuck in the tree for one night. Chrissy was 40 feet high on the only remaining limb at the top of a dead tree whose top had broken off. Much of the bark was missing and the exposed wood was clearly rotting. The usu al way to rescue a cat in a tree is to climb the tree, but this tree was dead and unsafe to climb, so what can I do? Of course, the simplest option is to use a bucket truck, but I don't have a bucket truck, and even if one were available, it was not clear if it could get close enough to reach the dead tree, and it would have to park in the road where it would be blocking traffic in both directions.  Another  option is to install a "highline," that is, a long rope pulled very tightly between two taller trees on opposite sides of the dead tree and attach my rope to the ...

One long day. A 400 mile loop. Three rescues. That just about sums up the day except to say that this was possible only because all three cats were sweet and cooperative. First was an unknown cat who had been stuck in a tree for at least four nights in Pearl River, Louisiana. A neighbor reported him to me, but I went there without knowing the cat owner or the property owner. I was planning to knock on the property owner's door to see if they would let me rescue the kitty, but I got lucky and found both the property owner and cat owner there outside looking at the cat when I arrived. I introduced myself and offered to rescue the cat, and they both welcomed me with relief. Trent is the cat owner, and his cat's name is Curtis. Curtis had been missing for ten days, and Trent was greatly relieved to finally find his five-year-old boy in this tree. We don't know exactly how long Curtis had been stuck in the tree, but we are sure that the neighbor who reported him knew that Curtis...

Boots and Ponyo were both rescued on the same day, but, otherwise, these two kitties are not related. Boots is in Covington, Louisiana, and Ponyo is thirty minutes down the road in Ponchatoula. Both were stuck in a tree for two nights, both were about 50 feet high, and both were sweet, cooperative kitties who stepped on my lap for a lap-bag rescue. They are also both victims of a camera malfunction -- most likely operator error -- that resulted in very few pictures of the rescue. Boots is four years old, and he was stuck high in a Pine tree at the edge of the wooded area behind his house. He was very unhappy about being stuck there, and he complained about it constantly and loudly. He didn't stop fussing until I climbed up there with him, and he sure was glad to see me. As I sat with him a minute and prepared for his rescue, he walked along the limb next to my head and rubbed his face against mine. Boots is a very affectionate boy. When I spread the bottom of the cat bag over my la...

Max and Ronan were very worried about their one-year-old cat, Little, who was stuck in a tree at the edge of the woods behind the horse pasture by their house in Baker, Louisiana. Little had been perched about 50 feet high in a lonely and exposed spot at the end of a long, high limb for three nights, and they had run out of ideas to help him down until they found me after doing a quick search on the internet. Fortunately, Little is a friendly and sociable boy, and I did not have to work hard to get him to come along that limb to me near the trunk. He came to me, let me pet him, and was happy to have some company. He eagerly stepped on my lap where I had already spread the cat bag, and I pulled the sides of the bag up around him to secure him inside for the ride back down to the ground. Max and Ronan were happy to have Little safe in their arms again, and they took him home to recover from his miserable adventure. Later, they sent to me this picture of him sleeping soundly in a soft, co...

Don't let the recent lack of activity on this site mislead you into thinking that cats haven't been getting stuck in trees lately. While this time of year has not been as busy as it usually is, I have done a few rescues during this cold spell and had several calls that resolved on their own before my intervention was needed. I'm still rescuing cats, but sometimes I don't have the time or energy to write the rescue report and edit the pictures. Now, however, I intend not only to get caught up on the rescues, but also to make a confession and tell the story about a ten-year-old girl who made a profound impression on me. First, I must tell you about an unknown , ear-tipped brown tabby kitty who was stuck for one night in Wayne's backyard tree in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Attempts to locate the cat's owner failed, so I knew nothing about this cat. Since the cat appeared uneasy, I climbed up the very large Oak tree on the opposite side where the cat could not see me, a...