"Attie' - A Hotty Toddy KittY
(early March 2016)
Executive Summary
"Attie" is a kitty from Oxford, MS who was stuck 30 feet up an oak tree for 4 nights before I rescued her. Attie was happy to see me and the rescue was easy. Dewayne, many thanks for your generous contribution to the Oktibbeha County Humane Society!
Details
I was working in my office when the Kat Fone yowled. It was Dewayne, their 7-year old family cat had been stuck for the last three nights in an oak tree in a neighbor's yard. I checked my schedule and the weather for the next morning, and both were clear. I told Dewayne that I would be there at 8:00 am the next morning.
When I arrived, I could hear a kitty crying from some distance away. Dewayne came out of the house, and told me to follow him in the truck across the road to his neighbor's house. I turned onto a gravel driveway, where the house was set about a hundred yards back from the road. There was a tree line to the right, with farm equipment in front of it. There was a driving path towards the tree line which I took and pulled up in front of a tree that had a long ladder leaning on it. About 5 feet above the ladder, I saw "Attie" perched on a strong limb. Dewayne said they had tried to reach Attie with the ladder, but it was too unstable, and they would have had to stand at nearly the top rung to reach her. I told Dewayne that I was glad they did not try that, as it would have been very dangerous. Terry, the neighbor who owned the property, also joined us. He said he and his wife were unaware of Attie's predicament until the previous night, and were very concerned about the kitty.
I unpacked the truck, and soon had a climbing line installed as there were plenty of good limbs above Attie. I started up the rope, and was very quickly at height at with Attie. I offered some kitty treats which she nibbled at, but Attie was mostly interested in reaching the ground as quickly as possible! I stroked Attie a bit, then nabbed her by the scruff and placed her in the Kat bag. Attie was not happy about being in the bag, but it was a short ride to the ground where I handed her off to Dewayne who took her to the house for food and water. After packing the truck, I returned to Dewayne's house, and took a post-rescue picture of Attie, who was clearly enjoying being back on the ground.