"Sergeant" is Stuck

Details

It was about 10:30 on a Tuesday morning when the Kat Fone yowled. It was Amanda from Plantersville (near Tupelo) - she had been referred to me by the Tupelo Humane Society. Her 1-year old rescue kitty "Sergeant" had been stuck in a tree since Saturday, could I help? I said that I could be there by noon.

On arrival, I was met by Amanda and Valerie (her mother). I could clearly hear a kitty crying from a tree somewhere in the back yard. Amanda helped me carry gear to the tall hardwood tree that Sergeant was stuck in. He was sitting in a large union at 35 feet, crying his heart out, and panting heavily (a sign of distress). Occasionally he would look up the tree but I felt that he was in no danger of going higher -- he wanted down! Amanda said she had rescued him from the Tupelo Humane Society two months previously, and the shelter workers were bittersweet about his adoption because of his ultra-sweetness. Amanda had adopted him as a companion for a kitten she had rescued who was crossing a busy five lane highway. Amanda said that Sergeant and the kitten were now good friends.

I set a rope at 50 feet and Sergeant followed this with interest, but was not spooked by it. I donned gear and started climbing. As I neared Sergeant, he tried to come down towards to me but was too scared to make any progress. On reaching Sergeant, I nabbed him with no fuss and put him in the Kat bag. Back on the ground, I handed him to Amanda who took him inside for food and water. After packing the gear, I went inside to take a post-rescue picture, and met Amanda's father Al, who had watched from the back porch (health issues prevented him from assisting). Valerie gave me some water which was much appreciated, and Amanda made a generous contribution to the Oktibbeha County Humane Society. The plan going forward was to keep Sergeant inside at night, perhaps that would help prevent future tree climbing mishaps!