"Sherlock" A Black/White Kitty Way Up High

Details

It was a nice-weather Saturday morning when I noticed a missed call and voice mail on the Kat phone. It was Chris; "Sherlock" had been stuck for two days and could I help? I called back and arranged to be there that afternoon. Chris sent me a picture that looked like the kitty was not that high up (looked about 30 feet to me), so I felt like this would be an easy rescue.

When I arrived, Chris and Tonya (Chris's wife) met me. Chris led me down a hill and into a gully and I started looking around at trees at about the 30-ft height for the kitty. Chris pointed at a tree, then craned his neck way back. I followed the trunk up,up,up until I finally spotted Sherlock at 60 ft! Wow --- looked like the rescue would be a bit more difficult than I anticipated. The first good limb on the tree and the best choice for my rope was at about 45 feet -- I would have to stem climb from there. I hit the limb on the first throw bag shot, and soon had a climbing rope installed. Chris, Tonya, and their two daughters (Katie and Carrie) stood by, ready to hold a tarp in case of a fall by Sherlock. I started up, and was soon at my tie-in point. Sherlock seemed exhausted; his back legs were hanging limply and he could barely keep his eyes open. I switched to stem climbing, and after some tedium was at Sherlock's height. We both swayed in the breeze a bit as the trunk was skinny at this point. Tonya had warned me that Sherlock was a heavy kitty, so I used both hands to lift him off the limb. Sherlock did not struggle and easily went into the Kat bag. I lowered Sherlock to the ground crew, who whisked him off to the house. I descended and everybody helped pack up my gear. Right before I left, one of the girls reported that after eating a little bit, Sherlock had retreated to his favorite blankie (a Mississippi State Bulldog blankie) and fallen asleep (picture below courtesy of Chris). Tonya related that Sherlock was a rescue kitty originally from Starkville; he had started out with a family there that could not care for him and he came down to Wesson with her daughter. I hope that Sherlock stays out of trees from now on! There is no video due to pilot error.