"Lost Kitty" - A Kitty is Found

Details

I was getting ready for work when I noticed on the Kat Fone that I had been tagged in a Facebook conversation about a kitty stuck in a tree near Guntown MS. I left my contact info in the conversation, and Mr. Grady W. soon called me. The unknown kitty had been stuck for two nights, could I help? He said that he would have gotten the kitty down himself, but at 80 years young, did not feel confident about climbing a ladder. I told him that I was happy to do it, and would be over later that day.

When I arrived, I was met by Mr. Grady W and a boisterous black lab. The kitty was in a smallish tree near the driveway, and only 25 feet up. Of course, the black lab was why the kitty was up the tree. He was used to cats, since Mr. Grady also has a kitty that is BFFs with the black lab, and so the lab thought that all kitties need a boisterous welcome when coming into the yard.

Mr. Grady put the lab in the house, while I established a rope in the tree. Initially the kitty gave welcoming meows when I approached the tree, but these turned to warning growls when I pulled my rope up. The kitty retreated to the far end of a branch while I climbed. When I reached the kitty's limb, I tried both wet and dry food treats but the kitty was not interested. The kitty resisted all of my sweet talking and would not budge from the end of the branch. I walked out on the limb as far as I could go without shaking the kitty off the limb, but the kitty was still well out of reach. I decided that I needed to try snaring the kitty with my rescue pole. I asked Mr. Grady to hold the net below the kitty in case it fell or jumped. My first attempt with the rescue pole almost succeeded, but the kitty slipped through the hoop before I could tighten the loop. The kitty then retreated to the very end of the limb, where it soon lost it balance, dangled for a moment, and then dropped. Fortunately, Mr. Grady was ready and made a fantastic catch of the falling kitty with the net!

I descended, and checked the kitty for a microchip with my scanner, but no microchip was present. The kitty purred as I stroked it in the net; it is clearly someone's lost pet. My guess is that it is an inside cat that escaped outside, as inside cats do not typically wear collars. Mr. Grady put some food and water in a storage shed and we placed the kitty in there. Mr. Grady was going to post some signs at a neighboring subdivision in an attempt to locate the owner. He said that he would be happy to adopt the kitty, but was concerned that the kitty would not know how to get along with the black lab and other kitty. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the kitty's owner can be located!

Mr. Grady W treated me to lunch at a local restaurant after the rescue, and also made a very generous donation to the Oktibbeha County Humane Society. Many thanks for lunch and the donation! The closeup photo of the kitty on the limb is courtesy of Mr. Grady W.

There is no video of the rescue.