"Oscar Wilde kitty"

Details

It was a Sunday morning, and I noticed a text message on the Kat Fone. It was from Robyn, she had been out-of-town and had returned to find her cat, Oscar Wilde Kitty, up a tree. Apparently, Oscar had not been cooperative with the kitty sitter resulting in the current situation. Robyn estimated that he had been stuck 2-to-4 days. After a few more texts, I arranged to be there early that afternoon.

When I arrived, Robyn led me to Oscar's tree. I could barely see him through the leaves on a limb at about 25 feet. I spotted a good union at 30 feet and proceeded to install a climbing rope. This process upset Oscar a bit and he first moved to the limb my rope was on, then climbed a few feet higher and went out on a limb. I had initially thought this rescue would be easy, but Oscar was acting a bit skittish. I geared up and started climbing. When I reached my limb, I began sweet talking to Oscar and he moved back to the trunk. However, he was just out of grabbing range; I would have to step up on the limb that held my rope. I installed a lanyard on the trunk about a foot higher than my tie-point, then put another lanyard with a step-up strap just above that. I put my foot in the step-up strap, stood up, then climbed on the tie-in point limb. I was now in easy reach of Oscar, who had been watching everything with interest, but showed no fear. I stroked Oscar on the side of his face, then reached over him to the back of his neck. He crouched down and gave me a loud warning hiss. I stroked him some more on his cheek and ears, and he calmed down. I was then able to grab his scruff, lift him off the limb, and put him in the Kat bag. Robyn had warned me that he weighed 13 lbs, and he was all that and maybe more! After a quick trip down, I handed Oscar off to the Robyn. The post-rescue picture below (courtesy of Robyn), shows Oscar chillaxing, and perhaps contemplating the meaning of life.