"Minnie-Pearl" in Peril

Details

It was mid-morning when I received a Facebook message from Janice about her kitty, "Minnie-Pearl". She had been stuck for two nights in a tree near Noxapater MS. Initially I said that I would not be able to do the rescue until the next day, as I had some meetings and was unsure if I could do the rescue before dark. However, Janice feared that Minnie-Pearl could be hurt or had a leg stuck, so I decided to do it that afternoon. I packed the truck at lunch and charged up my helmet light in case I needed it (I did not need it). After my meetings were over, I headed out.

When I arrived, I was met by Janice and her husband Terry. They led me on a short drive back into the woods on their property. When I exited the truck, I quickly spotted Minnie-Pearl about 40 feet up a hardwood a short distance off the road, sitting in a good union. She was on a leader that branched off from the main trunk, and there was no place on that leader to put a rope. I spotted a good tie-in point at 70 feet on the main trunk and was lucky to hit it on the first try with my throw bag launcher. I pulled up a climbing rope, donned my gear, and started up. Janice and Terry stood by with a tarp in case Minnie-Pearl fell or decided to jump. Minnie-Pearl gave a few unhappy yowls during the setup, but otherwise stayed in her union.

As I climbed, I put a lanyard on Minnie-Pearl's leader to help keep me close to it, as my tie-in point was trying to pull me away from the leader as I progressed higher. There were many vines that had to be cut away as I climbed, slowing progress and creating a lot of racket in the tree. When I was about 15 feet below her, I showed Minnie-Pearl some kitty treats. She showed polite interest, but that was about it. The good news was that she did not seem distressed about me climbing up to her, and just calmly watched me. She was also not spooked by my vine clearing. I continued climbing until I reached a small limb about 5 feet beneath her. I put another lanyard on Minnie-Pearl's leader to pull me even closer to it, and then was able to stand on that small limb. This put me even with her. I let Minnie-Pearl sniff my hand, and then rubbed her cheek. She seemed happy to see me. I scruffed her with my right hand, and used my left hand to push her up and off the union. Minnie-Pearl protested a bit, but did not struggle as I peeled her off the limb and into the Kat Bag. Back on the ground, I handed Minnie-Pearl and Kat bag off to Janice, who brought her into the house. Terry helped me pack up the gear.

Back at the house, Janice and Terry invited me inside where I was able to get a picture of Minnie-Pearl relaxing after her rescue. This was the third time Minnie-Pearl had been up a tree; Terry had rescued her the first two times. We all hope that Minnie-Pearl's tree climbing days are behind her!