"Reesie" In Trouble

Executive Summary

Misty was referred to me by the Huntsville Fire Department -- a neighbor's kitty was stuck in their tree, could I help? The call came in at 7:00 pm on a Friday night, and was only 20 minutes away. Because I was going to be at a Mock Cave rescue all day on Saturday, I decided to try to do the kitty rescue that night. I packed up and arrived about 45 minutes later. I was met by Misty, her husband, Mark (cat owner), and Bob (neighbor). All were concerned about "Reesie" who was about 30 ft up a sweetgum, next to the main trunk. Mark said Reesie was friendly, so I set a rope at about 50 feet, and started climbing. Reesie had not moved during rope setup, so I thought it would be a quick rescue. Because of thick leaves, I could not see Reesie as I was climbing, but as I nearer her last seen position I realized she was no longer there. She had bolted up the limb she was on and was now about 15 feet higher and 20 feet out from the trunk. An easy rescue was now a tough rescue - it had also gotten dark so I told Mark I would need to come back on Sunday during daylight.

On Saturday evening, Mark texted that Reesie was still stuck so I was at the tree by 8:00 am the next day. Reesie was in the exact same spot, she was too scared to come back to the trunk. Mark and I installed a net below Reesie as it seemed likely that I would have to use a snare pole, and she might fall. I climbed to my tie-in point, put a lanyard above it, and pulled myself up so that I was standing on the tie-in limb. I was now about even with Reesie but she was a couple of limbs away, about 15 ft horizontal distance. I used my extendable boat-hook to place my climbing hook on her limb, put another lanyard on a intervening limb between us, and then used this lanyard and my hook to pull myself over to Reesie's limb. She was still about 5 feet above me, but she was ready for a rescue. She overcame her fear, and with some scared yowls, slipped/slid down the limb to me. Reesie went into the bag with no complaints, she was happy to be safe. Back on the ground, Mark and Eva (Mark's daughter) took Reesie inside for needed food and water.

Mark, many thanks for your extremely generous donation to Lovable Feline Rescue of North Alabama and all your diligent help on the ground.