"WIlsOn" is Skittish
(late Oct 2019)
Executive Summary
"Wilson" (girl kitty) was stuck 40 feet up a tree in Tupelo MS for six days and hung in there despite 80 mph straight-line winds and rain that went through the area on day #5. "Wilson" made it a difficult rescue by deciding to run instead of instead of allowing me to grab her. Wilson was originally at 40 ft, but eventually retreated to 70 feet up a side stem. My closest approach still left me short of pole grab range, so the only option was to cut her limb (after installing a net below her). Wilson hung on as the limb dropped, then fell off as my rigging caught the limb. She bounced off the side of the net, then ran under the house. She appeared later after some coaxing by Kindal and is now back safe inside. Josh and Jack H., many thanks for all of the help from the ground and for hanging in there for a long rescue (2.5 hours).
Details
Kindal called; her rescue kitty has been stuck for five days in a tree in Tupelo, could I help. I arranged to be there the next morning; from the photo it looked like a routine rescue if Wilson cooperated (HINT: SHE DID NOT NOT COOPERATE).
Kindal and Josh (Kindal's husband) met me on arrival. Wilson was stuck in a sweet gum tree just off of their front porch; she had been chased up there by a neighborhood dog. Wilson was sitting in a large crotch at 40 feet (photo, green circle). I put a rope at 50 feet and Wilson was calm during rope installation, so I had hopes that it would be an easy rescue. During rope installation, a truck drove up and a young man emerged. He said hello to Josh, then turned to me and said "What are you doing here, Mr. Reese?". I looked baffled, so he followed up with "Don't you recognize me?" and took off his hat. I then realized that it was Jack H, who went to school with my younger son Brandon, elementary through high school, and who we shared many adventure with on athletic fields and other activities. We hugged, and caught up on family news. It emerged that Jack owns a tree trimming/landscaping business and Josh is one of his employees. Jack was visiting to plan the work week as the 80 mph straight-line winds that had passed the previous day had wreaked havoc in the surrounding area. After learning about the cat rescue problem, Jack postponed work discussions and helped throughout the rescue.
I geared up and started climbing. My hopes of an easy rescue were soon dashed as Wilson retreated up a large side stem to about 50 feet (blue triangle). After surveying her new position, I retreated back to the ground for a strategy session. We decided to install a secondary rope on her new limb, outside of her position, which would hopefully scare her back closer to the main trunk. During rope installation, Wilson started back to the trunk as planned but then climbed a long vertical stem to about 70 feet (red square). She was now out of climbing room and isolated on that stem. We decided that I would climb to her vertical stem, and try a pole grab from there. If that failed, then I would rig the limb and cut it, shaking her off. We installed a large net under Wilson's position to catch her if the limb cut proved necessary.
I climbed up the original rope, and then used the secondary rope to transfer to the large secondary branch. I stood on this branch but still could not reach Wilson who was directly over my head on the long vertical stem, even with my extended rescue pole. I rigged the limb with a webbing loop, and then cut it. Josh and Jack were holding the net taunt to ensure that it broke her fall. Wilson hung on to the limb until it was jerked to a stop by the rigging, then fell, hitting the side of the net. She bounced off, and ran under the house. Josh called her, but she would not come out as she was in a safe spot. Later that evening Wilson emerged for food and water after Kindal returned home from work. All ended happily!
