"Cashew" Cries for Help (and Tiger P2)

Executive Summary

Rachel from Cullman AL contacted me via text -- the family kitty "Cashew", a 4-year old orange boy, had been missing for two days and they had just located him stuck in a tree nearby. I agreed to come out the next morning. On arrival, Mickey (Rachel's husband) met me, and said that Cashew's tree was a bit of a walk from the house. He was not exaggerating, together we lugged gear through some dense scrub, met Rachel, and then crossed a large field that had been clear-cut in that past few months, dodging brush piles and holes. We finally arrived at Cashew's tree on the edge of the field, where he was crying piteously for help at about 40 feet. The tree was somewhat spindly, and was constantly swaying in the stiff winds blowing that day, all of which made Cashew yowl louder. Wtih Mikey's help, I was able to set a line just below Cashew's perch. I geared up and started climbing. When I reached the tie-in point, I used a lanyard to get a little higher so that I would be in easy reach of Cashew, who was too terrified to move. I bagged Cashew with no problem, and was soon back on the ground where I handed him off to Rachel. Whew, Cashew's ordeal was over! The picture below shows Cashew relaxing after the rescue.

The same day that I was contacted about Cashew, Jessica from Iuka MS texted me about Tiger, who I had rescued just a month ago. Tiger was stuck again, and in the same tree. My truck was in the shop limiting my travel options (I used my wife's car to go to Cullman), so I handed that rescue over to Max Grisham from Athens. Max traveled to Iuka the next night after work and successfully rescued Tiger. The picture below shows a grateful Jessica with Tiger. Tiger needs to stay out of trees!