"LittleBit" Makes it Tough

Executive Summary

I received a call from JR, one of his rescue kitties had been stuck for three nights in Vicksburg, could I help? When I arrived, JR met me and led me to a large hardwood. "Little Bit" had initially been at 20 feet. JR rented a man lift, and when up in it to the kitty. However, Little Bit spooked and went up to a limb at 40 feet. JR put a live trap with food, raised it to a limb at 30 ft. , and left it. The lift was still in place when I arrived. I was VERY SURPRISED that the kitty had not gone in the trap overnight. VERY.SURPRISED. ('foreshadowing' - a literary technique that warns of a future event). Given that that kitty was skittish, we put a net under the limb in case she jumped. I put a rope at a strong union at 60 feet, geared up, and went up. The plan was to have JR and Jami (his wife) call to Little Bit when I got close to distract her, so that I could climb past her, cutting off escape upwards. Of course, Little Bit said "to heck with your *plan*", bolted up the tree when I got close, and did not stop until she was at 80 feet at the end of a tiny limb. I climbed up to my tie-in point, but did not see a way to get within grab pole range. There was also a high chance of her falling, and she would hit the tin roof of a shed below if she fell. Reluctantly, I climbed down and said that I could not rescue her. I offered to shake her shake down and hope she survived the fall, but JR decided to leave her in the tree to see if she would come down. That night, JR sent me a text saying the kitty had come all the way down to a branch at 40 ft. Then, the next morning, JR texted that kitty was in the live trap on the lift. Hallelujah!!!! Miracles do happen! Whew. JR and Jami, many thanks for your extremely generous donation to the Oktibbeha County Humane Society!