"Carrot' -- Tortie in Trouble

Details

It was about noon, and the Kat Fone yowled. It was Rich from Starkville Animal Control -- he had a kitty stuck 20 feet up a tree in town and wondered if I was available for a rescue. I told him that I could be there mid afternoon, so he passed the contact info for the home owner to me. I called the home owner (Natalie), who said she did not know who owned the kitty and it had been stuck since last night. I arranged to be there around 3:00. Natalie said she would be picking up her daughter as school and would be home after that.

When I arrived at the house, I noticed a sign that Natalie had left on a tree letting me know "KITTY UP HERE!!!" I started scanning the tree -- Rich had mentioned the kitty was only 20 feet up, but the first branch was at 30 feet! I did not hear any kitty crying, and I was having a hard time locating the kitty. I finally spotted the kitty -- she was on the stump of a major stem that had broken off and her dark mottled fur camouflaged her against the bark. I located a limb above her and started setting a climbing line. During the setup, Sara (a neighbor) and her toddler daughter came up, and Sara told me that she knew who the kitty belonged to. The kitty's owners were away, but were due back that day. Sara also told me the kitty's name was "Carrot". I set the climbing line, then set a back up line as my tie-in point branch was a bit smallish for my comfort.

During the setup, "Carrot" cried nervously -- she did not like the activity in her tree -- but she did not move from her spot. I started climbing slowly up the line, sweet talking to Carrot as I went to keep her calm. I drew even with her, and Carrot hunkered down -- she did not fully trust me. However, Carrot let me scratch her nose a bit with my left hand, and then I scruffed her with my right hand. She yowled a bit going into the Kat Bag, but did not struggle. A short ride to the ground, and I handed her off to Sara, who took Carrot back to her house. During the rescue, Natalie and her daughter returned from school, and were able watch the end of it. As I was packing up, Sara returned and reported that Carrot had been happily reunited with a kitty sibling at the house, and they were taking turns washing each other. So, all ended well!